Tuesday’s terror attack in Pahalgam hits at the heart of the Valley’s tourism sector, which has shown a near-constant growth since 2018 and has been touted as the most significant indicator of “normalcy” in Jammu and Kashmir.
Officials and stakeholders say terrorists chose the peak tourist season in the Valley, when the meadows and Mughal gardens attract thousands of visitors to witness the spring. It also took place at a destination that is on every tourist’s itinerary — Pahalgam in South Kashmir. Pahalgam is significant for several reasons — it serves as one of the two routes to the Amarnath cave, which attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year, and it is home to the Baisaran pine forest, a popular trekking route.
The attack, industry insiders say, will have significant ramifications for the sector, which had slowly emerged from the long shadow cast by terror attacks. Rauf Tramboo, president of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir, called the attack is a “huge blow”. He said that the last few years saw growth in the sector owing to a “peaceful situation”, but now “we are already receiving queries on cancellations from businesses and consumer partners”.
The ripples, stakeholders say, will be felt across the Valley since the sector employs thousands – from those plying shikaras to hotel staff.
The Centre has been proactive in promoting J&K as a tourist-friendly destination. In May 2023, Srinagar hosted the third G20 tourism working group meeting, which saw participation from at least 60 foreign delegates, albeit under a multi-tiered security set-up.
Over the last few years, a new policy was introduced to encourage the hosting of events in Kashmir, and a film policy was developed to promote the shooting of films in J&K.
Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha has also described tourism numbers as a “key indicator” of peace. On April 19, he said in Srinagar that “secessionism and terrorism have no future in J&K”. Earlier, he had said, “Jammu Kashmir mein aman, chain aur shanti, tourism ke raaste hi bahaal ho sakti hai (peace can only be restored in J&K through tourism).”
Story continues below this ad
Speaking in the Assembly last month, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that over 23 million tourists visited J&K in 2024. As per the state tourism department, in 2018, the year before the revocation of Article 370 and the subsequent clampdown, over 1.6 crore tourists visited the state. Of this, 8.3 lakh visited Kashmir.
Those injured in the terror attack being taken for treatment, in Anantnag district on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
This number dropped to 5.65 lakh (Kashmir) in 2019 owing to the lockdown and communication blockade in the Valley. The following year, with the pandemic, tourism numbers to Kashmir came down to just over 41,000. However, post-Covid, the numbers have steadily increased, and 2023 recorded an influx of over 2 crore, with over 27 lakh tourists visiting the Valley alone.
But before he took over as CM, Omar had struck a note of caution in May 2022, saying, “Tourism is not normalcy, it’s a barometer of economic activity. Normalcy is the absence of fear, the absence of terror, the inability of militants to strike at will, the presence of democratic rule and by any yardstick you choose to use, Kashmir is far from normal today.”
Source link
[ad_3]
[ad_4]