SRINAGAR: With soaring mercury interrupting life in the plains, Kashmir is witnessing an unprecedented surge in tourism, with a notable increase in foreign arrivals. Hotels, houseboats, and home stays are fully booked, reflecting Kashmir’s popularity among travelers.
A senior Tourism official has said over a million tourists have arrived by mid-May, surpassing 2023’s numbers and setting the stage for a record-breaking year.
Media reports said that over 12.5 lakh tourists have so far visited Kashmir and going by the present trend, the year 2024 is likely to break all previous records.
Besides the traditional spots, reports suggest that offbeat destinations such as Daksum, Doodhpathri, and Keran are attracting significant numbers of visitors.
Currently, Kashmir is receiving a high volume of tourists from Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, driven by abnormally high temperatures in these regions. A good chunk is coming from Bangalore as well.
Market players are also talking about the “uninterrupted flow”. Next two months are pre-booked, market sources said. Hoteliers said the traffic from Delhi and Punjab will start after June as is the tradition.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration is planning to establish district-level committees to identify land for new 5-star hotels in every Kashmir district. According to an order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD), these committees will be chaired by deputy commissioners and include tourism officials, town planners, and industry representatives.
High quality infrastructure is required to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. Right now, arrivals from South East Asian countries are improving. This is despite the advisories that are in place in most of West and Europe. Though most of the G-20 countries participated in a meeting in Srinagar last year, these countries are yet to lift the adverse advisories for their nationals.
Meanwhile, the authorities have started the process for welcoming the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.
