Jammu and Kashmir Sees Surge in Tourist Arrivals
The Centre on Wednesday announced that Jammu and Kashmir has had more than one crore tourist footfalls up to June 2024. The surging figure of visitors is observed after the abrogation of Article 370, which resulted in much-needed impetus for the tourism sector in the UT.
The number of tourists that visit J&K has increased gradually over the years. The total figure was 3,470,834 in 2020. In 2021, it rose to 11,314,884 and 18,864,332 in 2022. By last year, the total had increased to 21,124,874; by mid-2024, 10,841,009 tourists had visited the area.
He said that the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has announced several steps to give a flip to tourism, including the comprehensive Tourism Policy, 2020, and accorded the industry status to the tourism sector under the Industrial Policy, Jammu and Kashmir 2021 for availing all related incentives.
Improvement in the law and order situation has resulted in Jammu and Kashmir entering the tourism boom in the past four years, leaving many people directly or indirectly associated with the industry in great cheer. Other steps have been the announcement of incentives under the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy 2021 and the formulation of guidelines on homestays to accommodate high tourist inflows with an economic spin-off for the local communities.
The government has also framed the Jammu and Kashmir Film Policy 2021 and Houseboat Policy 2020 and identified 75 off-beat destinations, while border tourism also started picking places that were unknown earlier, like Gurez, Keran, Teetwal, R.S. Pura, which are now easily approachable. UT is also fast emerging as the hub of adventure and golf tourism.
The ultramodern infrastructure of the region, complemented by an increasing number of luxury hotels and resorts, makes Jammu and Kashmir one of the finest destinations for destination weddings and MICE tourism. The contribution of tourism to GSDP has increased from 7.84 percent in 2019-20 to 8.47 percent in 2022-23. The sector has been on a firm growth path, with an average growth of 15.13 percent during the last three years.
