Rallying on the high of 2024’s sentiment, Kashmir’s tourist season opened strong in early 2025, with optimism in the air and record footfall on the horizon. But the Pahalgam tragedy brought the momentum crashing down, plunging stakeholders across the board into a crisis. Now, with hope tentatively returning, the path to revival demands a return to fundamentals, to rebuild trust and bring Kashmir back onto the traveller’s bucket list, reports Babra Wani
An eerie calm is around. Silent and secluded, the streets in and around tourist destinations in Kashmir are deserted—empty gardens, vacated properties and forlorn pathways. Fear hangs in the mist, and the future mocks with questions.
A month ago, the sight was different. Scintillating and spellbinding. The areas around tourist destinations were so crowded that the government decided to restrict local school children from visiting the places.
Tourism and tourists were topics of interest to everyone. However, the flow of the Lidder changed the course.
One Month Ago
Ahmad sat at his cluttered desk, the afternoon sun staring down at him. He scrolled through missed calls and unread messages, his fingers moving instinctively until one notification froze him.
“Are you okay? I heard there has been an attack in Baisaran.”
Shocked, he did not anticipate the gravity. Initially, he thought it was a routine one, but deep inside, a strange feeling surrounded him. A wave of uncertainty grappled.
The next moment, his eyes were glued to the screen. His thought of it being a routine gunfight was ruined by the revelations. Everything around him faded, the hallway chatter, the hotel’s rush. A familiar fear crept in, slow and suffocating. Lost, all he could hear was the thud of his heartbeat.
“Will I be jobless again?” he murmured, eyes locked on the screen. Memories came flooding back. He remembered his jobless years, too. For the next five days, both the past and the question haunted him like a nightmare. He began waking up drenched in sweat, panicked at the thought of returning to unemployment.
Five days later, his fears were realised when he received a message from his superior: “You should stay home and not come back since there is no workload at the moment.”
Ahmad had been unemployed for more than a decade before joining a Pahalgam hotel as store manager a year ago. The job had offered him hope. “I had high hopes with this job, dreams and aspirations,” he said quietly. “Now I do not even know anything anymore.”
Ahmad is not an individual instance, there are endless instances. Expectedly, the impact of the massacre is going to reverberate across all the major sectors, tourism being the worst hit.
The Substantial Setback
Tourism in Kashmir was taking a twist, a prosperous one. Year 2024 being the historic one, the region registered close to 35 00,000 tourists. The number was 27 lakh in 2023 and 26 lakh in 2022. The Gulmarg Gondola alone saw over 7.68 lakh visitors in 2024, generating Rs 103 crore in revenue.
According to the Economic Survey 2024–25, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2.36 crore tourist visits during 2024, the highest ever in its history. This includes 65,452 foreign tourists, 5.12 lakh Amarnath yatris, and 94.56 lakh yatris for Mata Vaishno Devi.
Continuing its rally of 2024, fuelled by strong numbers, about 5 lakh tourists visited Kashmir in the first three months of 2025. Srinagar’s Tulip Garden alone attracted 8.14 lakh visitors in just 26 days in 2025.
Everyone involved in the trade was working overtime. However, the devastating attack on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 people, including 25 tourists and a local pony handler, changed the course completely.
The once-bustling tourist destinations have turned into a ghostly landscape. Hotels are laying off staff. Ponywalas, Shikara owners, tour operators, taxi drivers, and tourist guides are without work, their income vanished overnight. The toll plaza, which witnessed at least 4000 vehicles a day before April 22, hardly finds one now.
Taxi stands emptied. Parks fell silent. Ponies waited for visitors who never came. Airlines report over 15,000 flight cancellations to Srinagar in the attack’s aftermath.
“Hotels have cut down on staff,” Ahmad said. “Many have reduced their employees to just a few.”
His hotel, which once had more than 20 staff members, now had only three.
A game of demand and supply, the tourism players have slashed the prices drastically, but there are no buyers.
“We have slashed our package prices from Rs 6000 to Rs 1300 per night. Since April 24, we have had only two bookings,” said a hotel owner operating in Pahalgam.
According to a local stakeholder, over 10,000 people in Pahalgam alone rely on tourism for their livelihoods, including hotel staff, pony walls, and taxi drivers. The area houses hundreds of hotels and nearly 10 pony and taxi stands.
“We had to send most of our staff home. The incident has affected us adversely to a larger extent,” said Amin, a hotel manager in Laripora. “There are no guests. Some bookings were cancelled, and in some cases, we refunded the payments. In the last month, we had a booking for just three rooms. Since our cook was among those we sent home, we had to manage the kitchen ourselves.”
Amin and one other staff member were the only ones retained.
“I know it is not right, letting people go,” he said. “Most are bachelors, some have families. But we had no choice.”
Most hotel owners have taken similar steps to sustain this lean period.
People like Ahmad were left both hopeless and jobless. Saleem, a resident of Handwara who had worked as a waiter in a Srinagar hotel, now found himself driving tractors for others. He said he had to earn somehow to survive and was doing menial jobs to sustain himself.
Legally speaking, the issue of layoff can land owners in court; however, now there is a question of survival on either side.
The impact in Jammu and Kashmir has spilt over to other states as well. Tour operators across India who focus on Kashmir were also suffering losses, and the entire tourism chain was affected.
A tour operator from Maharashtra called for a coordinated government effort to restore confidence.“Time is the best healer,” he said, hopeful that with proper steps and patience, the industry might recover.
Income to Insecurity
For 25-year-old Jahangir, a pony helper from Nagbal, the tourism boom meant survival. He recalled earning over a thousand rupees a day, splitting the amount with pony owners while keeping enough to run his household. “Now, everything is gone,” he said quietly.
Rayees Ahmad Bhat, president of a pony stand in Pahalgam, said nearly 5,000 ponies operate in the area. His stand-alone had hundreds of animals and over 200 people working as operators and helpers. Since the attack, police inquiries have become routine. “We are still being called to the police station. There is no other work. If there were, we would be doing it. But now, we are just sitting idle,” he said.
Emerging as a lucrative option over the last few years, tourism operations witnessed a huge influx. There were returns as well.
Irshad, a cab driver, had switched from driving a matador on the Mattan-Anantnag route to a tourist cab after taking a hefty loan from Jammu and Kashmir Bank. The recent surge in tourism had given him hope, but the attack changed everything. “Now, I have a debt, a loan to pay, and no income. There is no other work here in Pahalgam,” he said.
Nearly 1,000 taxis operate in Pahalgam, supporting as many families. Now, they face uncertainty and despair. Once this number struggled to meet the requirements of the trade. Officials said in the last four years, there were more than 8500 commercial vehicles added to the commercial transport in Kashmir alone, and most of them are debt-funded.
Gulzar Ahmad Wani, president of Taxi Stand Number 2, said about half the taxi owners had either taken loans or sold land to buy vehicles. “Some have hired drivers. Everyone has a family to feed. The loan instalments are crushing,” he said.
He explained that many were forced to sell their land or family jewellery to repay loans. “There is no other source of income in Pahalgam. We are educated, but we have nothing to do. The banks will not waive the EMIs.”
With the halt in tourism, all hopes were pinned on the Amarnath Yatra. “Even that may not be enough. The number of yatris is small, and we operate in shifts,” Wani said.
A street vendor outside the Verinag Mughal Garden said people like him were suffering endlessly. He recalled earning nothing some days, despite having no time to breathe in better times. “Now we barely have any customers. Nobody visits us, and we have shut down our carts.”
The same is the situation in Srinagar. A shopkeeper near Srinagar’s Nishat Mughal Garden said they once earned their livelihoods from the garden, but the sharp decline in tourism had left them hopeless.
Manzoor Ahmad, a houseboat owner for 45 years, said his boat on Dal Lake had not hosted tourists since the Pahalgam attack. “We have been struggling since. I manage it alone now. Earlier, we had a cook, but due to the crisis, I work by myself.” Hiring help, he said, had become unaffordable. “Everything and everyone are suffering. The economy is down. We have no tourists and no bookings. Everything is stalled.”
The boat owner said they were praying for normalcy to return and had been surviving on their savings. “The year had started well. We had bookings for a month. But April 22 changed everything. It is not just us. Hotels, shikara owners, travel agents, everyone has been hit.”
Danish, who runs two homestays in Srinagar, said his once-thriving business had collapsed. He had not yet cut staff, but with zero bookings, he said he would review the situation after a month.
A resident of Old City in Srinagar, speaking anonymously, said he had joined a hotel job three months earlier. After the attack, he and 130 others were dismissed. “It is a well-known hotel,” he said, adding that he now searches for work. Despite holding a master’s degree, he was turned away from a sales position.
Another tourism stakeholder questioned the management’s decision, pointing out that hotels had earned well in previous seasons. He asked where that money had gone and why staff were laid off so suddenly.
Manzoor Pakhtoon, President of the Houseboat Association, said the attack in Pahalgam had severely affected tourism as bookings were either cancelled or postponed to mid-season. The bookings, he said, were confirmed till June, which now stood cancelled. Houseboats, usually occupied for one or two months, now stood empty. Since the attack, occupancy had dropped sharply.
“The season usually gains momentum in April, but this year it had started early in March, only to collapse under mass cancellations,” he said.
Although attempts, Manzoor said, were made to restore tourist confidence, hesitation persisted. “The absence of online bookings reflects a wider crisis of trust,” he said. Those visiting were doing so through word of mouth, not formal channels.
He criticised the Department of Tourism for not launching any major campaign to rebuild the trust. Though hopeful of a revival during the upcoming yatra, autumn, or apple season, he, however, made it clear that discounts would not resolve the crisis. “Some hotels have cut rates, but if tourists do not feel safe, even free stays won’t bring them here.”
The Existential Crisis
The season 2025 was seen as a turning point. Post-COVID, the revival was visible. However, the attack has derailed the drive built on multiple factors, including the security and sentiment across the sectors.
The attack, which occurred at the height of the peak tourist season,n decimated the hope of earnings, at least for a while.
Tourism being the vast ecosystem with over 1500 houseboats, more than 3000 hotels, 2350 registered homestays, countless tour operators, Shikara owners, pony handlers, and handicraft sellers are all looking forward with fear of the past.
The sector is the source of survival, directly or indirectly, for more than three lakh people, from hotel owners to hawkers. It includes everybody related to the tourist activity.
According to the Economic Survey, the sector contributes between 7 per cent and 8 per cent to the region’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). With the total GSDP estimated at Rs 2.65 lakh crore, tourism is believed to be worth between Rs 18,500 crore and Rs 21,200 crore annually.
“The growth prospects have turned into potential liabilities,” said a banker wishing anonymity. This, he believes, would trickle down to other sectors, which eventually will make things difficult. “It had impacted the confidence in Kashmir, whether of a visitor or investor. A credibility crisis,” he said, adding, this will spill over to other ancillary sectors, like transport, agriculture, horticulture, handicrafts, and importantly banking.
The start-up sector, which included investments in tourism as well, had also shown signs of revival with a 287 per cent rise in DPIIT-registered start-ups since 2020. But the impact of the attack could now slow down further investment and growth.
The unemployment rate, which had improved to 6.1 per cent in 2023-24 from 6.7 per cent in 2019-20, may also be impacted.
President of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Javid Ahmad Tenga said it was not just tourism, but the entire market that was struggling. “Everyone is on edge, unsure about the future.” The transport sector, he added, was the worst hit. “There are over 28,000 tourist vehicles, many purchased through loans. Repayments are due, and we are addressing it.”
Javid said the Chamber had met JK Bank Managing Director Amitava Chatterjee over the issue. “We are working on it and planning meetings with LG Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah. We are exploring whether loan instalments can be deferred or reduced. We will raise this issue wherever necessary.”
He estimated over 300,000 people had been affected directly or indirectly. “We hope tourism revives soon. The Prime Minister has taken note of the crisis. These are dark times, but we remain hopeful. The entire economy is hurting. Handicraft showrooms and artisans are suffering too.”
He said the Pahalgam attack and the subsequent war-like atmosphere had left a lasting impact. “We cannot expect things to return to normal suddenly. We need to wait patiently. All sectors, not just tourism, are in distress. General trade is suffering. People are saying markets are empty.”
On layoffs, Tenga said that while no hotel had formally terminated staff, some had asked employees to stay home on payroll until the situation improved. “They are trying to cut costs, but nobody wants to take the harsh step of termination.”
A Pan-India Push
“As civil society, we must promote tourism at the right time,” said a stakeholder. He stressed the importance of safeguarding the livelihoods of those dependent on the industry. The ongoing slump, he added, was also affecting general trade and commerce.
Tenga welcomed the Chalo Kashmir movement, acknowledging that at least someone had taken the initiative.
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, which altered the course of the summer season, the Indian travel industry launched an ambitious campaign titled Chalo Kashmir (Let us visit Kashmir). Spearheaded by the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), the campaign aims to restore traveller confidence and affirm the resilience of Kashmir’s economic and cultural backbone.
With support from over 2,400 member companies and more than a hundred affiliated agencies across states like West Bengal and Maharashtra, the initiative has begun to gain ground.
In a press statement, TAAI said recent disturbances had raised concerns but had not diminished the region’s timeless charm. It argued that by encouraging travel to Jammu and Kashmir, the industry could sustain local livelihoods and project a message of unity and hope.
Their target is to reach over one million prospective travellers across the country, including families, groups, and individuals. The association has formally requested the Chief Minister and relevant departments to implement robust visitor protection measures.
“These efforts may not instantly revive the sector, but they are a necessary start,” said Sajad Ahmad Kralyari, Secretary General of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK). He expected a 20 to 30 per cent recovery in the coming months.
The campaign also received support at the national level. On May 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level review meeting to assess the tourism situation and discuss revival plans post-Pahalgam.
In West Bengal, nearly 100 travel companies have united under the Chalo Kashmir banner. These agencies collectively handle over four lakh domestic tourists each year, around 40,000 of whom travelled to Kashmir last year.
Several travel agents noted that reaffirming trust in Kashmir’s appeal was the best response to terrorism. “Tourism is not merely a business, it is a message,” said Sameer Ahmad, a tour operator based in Srinagar. He said tourists returning to the Valley were proof that fear had not prevailed.
The campaign’s slogan reflected this sentiment: Make space in your heart for J&K; Make plans to visit J&K; Support the people of J&K; Let us help revive tourism in J&K.
Some names in this story have been changed to protect the privacy and safety of the individuals involved.
