Tourism in J&K on revival path, says govt; data shows slump in 2025 after Pahalgam attack

JAMMU: Tourist arrivals successful Jammu and Kashmir person shown signs of revival aft a heavy slump pursuing the April 2025 Pahalgam panic attack, authorities govt said Wednesday.Replying to a chopped question of Peoples Conference legislator Sajad Lone, govt said the panic onslaught severely impacted tourism, livelihoods and each stakeholders linked to the sector.

However, govt initiated a bid of measures, including promotional outreach, to reconstruct assurance and revive tourism. These efforts, it said, person yielded encouraging results, reflected successful improved footfalls during the wintertime season. CM Omar Abdullah holds complaint of the tourism department.According to authoritative information tabled by govt successful the assembly, 29.4 lakh home tourists and 43,654 overseas tourists had visited Kashmir successful 2024, portion 5.1 lakh pilgrims visited Shri Amarnath cave shrine the aforesaid year.In 2025, the numbers declined arsenic J&K recorded 11.1 lakh home tourer arrivals and 22,993 overseas tourists, portion 4.1 lakh yatris undertook the beatified Amarnath pilgrimage.Tourism presently contributes astir 6.98% to J&K’s Gross State Domestic Product.Earlier, tourism was deed successful 2020 and 2021 pursuing Covid-19 outbreak soon aft the notification of J&K Tourism Policy-2020. However, with the easing of Covid restrictions, the assemblage gradually recovered and registered beardown maturation successful consequent years.

The J&K tourism argumentation envisages an concern of Rs 2,000 crore per twelvemonth successful the assemblage during the archetypal phase, and procreation of 50,000 jobs annually.The Omar govt said successful FY 2025-26, it spent Rs 3,961.79 lakh connected day-to-day operations and attraction and Rs 1,703.45 lakh connected instauration and upgradation of infrastructure for tourism improvement authorities and tourer circuits crossed 21 improvement authorities. Major authorities, including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Patnitop and Lolab-Bangus-Drangyari, are moving to amended the facilities.Nearly 200 tourism assets were identified for outsourcing and monetisation, and 196 person already been taken up.