SRINAGAR: Gulmarg, the valley of flowers in Jammu and Kashmir, is celebrating a surge in tourism. In last two and a half years, almost 3 million people have visited the destination. This year alone, over a million visitors have already enjoyed its beauty.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, shared the news that 1.27 crore tourists have explored the region in the first seven months of 2023.
Quoting an official, KNO reported that following the relaxation of the Covid-19 situation, Gulmarg has experienced a significant surge in tourist arrivals, with the majority of visits falling within the domestic circuit.
In the entirety of 2020, slightly more than 98,000 arrivals were recorded. However, this renowned ski destination has witnessed a substantial increase in visitors over the past couple of years, with over 31 lakh visitors recorded from January 2021 to July of the current year. This total encompasses both locals, foreigners, and visitors from the domestic circuit.
In July, Gulmarg registered an impressive count of over 2.15 lakh tourists, marking the highest for the ongoing year. In contrast, the month of February saw a more modest figure of 92,000 arrivals.
Breaking down the figures, the official records for the ongoing year indicate that over 7.6 lakh domestic tourists have explored Gulmarg, alongside more than 2.5 lakh locals and 5,500 foreigners.
The year 2021 noted a cumulative arrival of 6,18,076 tourists, out of which more than 3.6 lakh hailed from the domestic circuit, and over 2.5 lakh were registered as locals. The year also saw 16 arrivals of foreign tourists.
Moving on to 2022, this tourist hotspot welcomed over 15 lakh visitors, with more than 10 lakh originating domestically, 4.8 lakh being locals, and over 3,900 classified as foreigners.
Lieutenant Governor stated last week that they are anticipating surpassing last year’s tourism arrival figures of 1.88 crore. He highlighted that the first seven months of 2023 have already documented 1.27 crore tourists, and this year’s figures are projected to exceed 2.25 crore. (KNO)
