India has decided to open Srinagar airport in disputed
Kashmir to international flights to entice more tourists to
the Himalayan region. Kashmir has been involved in a 15
year dispute involving soldiers and Muslim militants who
don’t want Indian rule in the region. Estimates
say that around 360,000 people visited Kashmir last year,
most of the them Indians, up from 191,000 in the previous
year, although the figure was small compared with the
millions who travelled to the region before the revolt in
1989. Israelis topped the list of foreign tourists
visiting the Muslim-majority region last year followed by
Chinese.