As the rising mercury levels in the rest of the country leave Indians sweating, it is bringing great joy to Kashmir and its tourism industry. For the first time in a decade, Kashmir witnessed as many as 1.8 Lakh tourists in the month of March in 2022, as per Tourism Director GN Itoo.
With the rising temperatures elsewhere, more and more tourists are expected to head to Kashmir during this season. Tourism numbers will also be bolstered by the resumption of the Amarnath Yatra. The holy pilgrimage was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to Coronavirus. The yatra will begin on 30th June and continue for 43 days.
“This is a record number and we are expecting a further increase in it. The credit for the record number of tourist arrivals goes to collective efforts of all the stakeholders including travel agents, tour operators, houseboat owners, and even pony wallas”, Director Itoo said.
Secretary Tourism and Culture Jammu & Kashmir, Sarmad Hafeez said that credited a series of roadshows and promotion campaigns in various cities of India for the bumper tourist season. Promotion of tourist attractions like Tulip Garden, Mughal Gardens has also paid dividends as per Hafeez.
He also mentioned that majority of the hotels and houseboats have already received the advance payment against their bookings so they expect a good tourist season to continue in the coming months.
This is the first full tourist season in Kashmir after the removal of article 370 in 2019. During the past 2 years, the tourism sector in the Union Territory suffered terribly due to Coronavirus and the resulting restrictions on travel.
