Kamal Ghorui
JAMMU: Tourist arrivals in Jammu and Kashmir have shown signs of revival after a deep slump following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, state govt said Wednesday.Replying to a cut motion of Peoples Conference legislator Sajad Lone, govt said the terror attack severely impacted tourism, livelihoods and all stakeholders linked to the sector. However, govt initiated a series of measures, including promotional outreach, to restore confidence and revive tourism. These efforts, it said, have yielded encouraging results, reflected in improved footfalls during the winter season. CM Omar Abdullah holds charge of the tourism department.According to official data tabled by govt in the assembly, 29.4 lakh domestic tourists and 43,654 foreign tourists had visited Kashmir in 2024, while 5.1 lakh pilgrims visited Shri Amarnath cave shrine the same year.In 2025, the numbers declined as J&K recorded 11.1 lakh domestic tourist arrivals and 22,993 foreign tourists, while 4.1 lakh yatris undertook the holy Amarnath pilgrimage.Tourism currently contributes about 6.98% to J&K’s Gross State Domestic Product.Earlier, tourism was hit in 2020 and 2021 following Covid-19 outbreak soon after the notification of J&K Tourism Policy-2020. However, with the easing of Covid restrictions, the sector gradually recovered and registered strong growth in subsequent years.The J&K tourism policy envisages an investment of Rs 2,000 crore per year in the sector during the initial phase, and generation of 50,000 jobs annually.The Omar govt said in FY 2025-26, it spent Rs 3,961.79 lakh on day-to-day operations and maintenance and Rs 1,703.45 lakh on creation and upgradation of infrastructure for tourism development authorities and tourist circuits across 21 development authorities. Major authorities, including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Patnitop and Lolab-Bangus-Drangyari, are working to improve the facilities.Nearly 200 tourism assets were identified for outsourcing and monetisation, and 196 have already been taken up.
