Srinagar, Jul 9 (PTI) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday chaired the board meetings of Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) and Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) after boards of both bodies were reconstituted recently.

Abdullah presided over the 19th board meeting of SKICC which was attended by advisor to the CM Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, administrative secretaries of Finance and Tourism, DG Planning, tourism director, MD of JKTDC and SKICC director.

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He emphasized the need for SKICC to emerge as a prominent place for conferences and other events so that the convention centre is utilized to its optimal level and it is able to earn sufficient revenue to bear its own expenses.

Abdullah called upon the SKICC management to employ strategic marketing tools to acquaint corporates and private organizations about this facility which has the potential to be hub of activities all the year round.

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The chief minister expressed concerned over under-utilization of SKICC and asked tourism department to build a distinct MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) brand identity for the SKICC so as to utilize this facility.

"It is essential to target corporates, event planners, and government agencies to ensure higher bookings for SKICC and minimize unutilized days.

This would help SKICC to augment its revenue," he said.

Abdullah also called upon making recoveries of outstanding dues pending with departments, private entities and individuals.

This was the first Board meeting of SKICC since 2020 after the Board was recently reconstituted with chief minister as chairman of the Board.

In another meeting, the chief minister chaired 95th Board of Directors meeting of the J&K Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) and stressed on the need to increase the visibility of its assets so that tourists and people in general seek accommodation in JKTDC hotels and guest houses earnestly.

He called upon improving the services and facilities in JKTDC properties to enhance the experience of guests so that they prefer to take JKTDC accommodation every time they visit J&K.

The chief minister gave directions to make maximum number of rooms including premium ones available for better marketability through online travel aggregators so that JKTDC hotels and huts are used to optimum capacity.

Abdullah expressed concern over misuse of JKTDC properties and revenue leakages.

"Every single JKTDC asset be installed with an independent smart meter," he said.

Abdullah underlined the need to improve monitoring of JKTDC huts and hotels and to check misuse of assets.

He also called upon improving the overnight-stay potential of huts in remote tourist areas.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)