New Delhi

The government on Wednesday asked tourist service providers, travel agents, tour operators, hoteliers and online travel aggregators to provide all possible assistance to tourists, including waiving cancellation fees, in the aftermath of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

The tourism ministry said this in a communication issued to various stakeholders of the tourism and hospitality sector, as also to the Jammu and Kashmir's department of tourism.

Thousands of tourists began leaving Kashmir on Wednesday, a day after 26 people were killed by terrorists at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Anantnag district.

Local travel agents in Jammu and Kashmir said most of the tourists were leaving the valley due to fear.

"This is in the aftermath of the recent incident in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. It is requested that all the tourist service providers, travel agents, tour operators, Online Travel Aggregators (OTAs), tourist transport providers, hoteliers and all other accommodation units may provide all possible assistance to the tourists including waiving off cancellation fees. Your support is greatly appreciated," reads the communication signed by Union Tourism Secretary V Vidyavathi.

The Pahalgam terror attack is set to deal a blow to tourism in Jammu and Kashmir with travel agencies in several parts of the country reporting widespread cancellations of scheduled trips to the Union territory even as the Centre said it will do the best to "minimise" the impact on hospitality sector there.

"We know tourists have by and large been safe in Kashmir but with such an incident happening here, one cannot expect them to stay back. The cancellations are massive, close to 80 per cent," Aijaz Ali, a travel operator from Srinagar, said.

He said there were cancellations of packages even for next one month.

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Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it was "heartbreaking" to see the exodus of tourists.

Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of an event in Delhi, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday said some people with nefarious intentions have tried to again "incite separatism and terrorism" in the Valley and asserted that his ministry will do the best to "minimise the dent" on tourism in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.