After lull, tourism revives in Kashmir
: Even though tourism has witnessed a considerable decline in Kashmir since August 5, 2019, when the erstwhile state was put under restrictions, there has been a significant increase in the arrival of visitors and adventurers in the Valley in the past two months.
Data from the tourism department reveals that over 32,000 domestic and foreign tourists have visited Kashmir this winter cumulatively in the months of December 2020 and January 2021. While 19,000 people visited the Valley, particularly the ski resort of Gulmarg in January, around 13,000 in December.
“After the Covid-19 unlock and reopening of tourism activities, we have seen a good response this winter. There was an outreach to potential tourism markets like Kolkata, Gujarat and Maharashtra which has borne fruit,” said tourism deputy director Ahsan-ul-Haq Chishti.
Tourism nosedived in Kashmir since August 5, 2019, when the special status of the erstwhile state was revoked and restrictions imposed on movement of people and communication shut for months. The situation was aggravated by lockdown. On Tuesday, Union tourism minister Prahlad Patel informed Parliament that 84,326 tourists visited Kashmir since August 5, 2019. “Since, August 5, 2019, the number of tourist arrivals in J&K declined. The impact was felt more severely in Kashmir valley than in the Jammu division.
OVER 32,000 DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN TOURISTS VISITED KASHMIR IN PAST 2 MONTHS