SRINAGAR: Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine registered 94.55 lakh pilgrims in 2024, while the wider Jammu region recorded over 2 crore tourist visits during the year, according to figures placed in the Rajya Sabha by the Union Ministry of Tourism.
Replying to an Unstarred Question, Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said 9,455,605 pilgrims visited the shrine in 2024, while 6,932,922 pilgrims were recorded in 2025 so far.
Separate district-wise tourism statistics provided by the Union Territory administration show that the Jammu region logged 20,069,576 domestic and 21,798 foreign tourist visits in 2024. For 2025 (provisional), the figures stand at 16,221,619 domestic and 13,417 foreign tourist visits.
Reasi district, which houses the Vaishno Devi shrine, accounted for the largest share of visits, registering 1.08 crore domestic and 21,705 foreign tourist visits in 2024, followed by 81.16 lakh domestic and 13,413 foreign visits in 2025.
Other districts also recorded significant movement. Udhampur reported 28.62 lakh tourist visits in 2024 and 19.49 lakh in 2025, Jammu district 11.62 lakh and 13.41 lakh, Rajouri 14.49 lakh and 14.55 lakh, Poonch 9.25 lakh and 7.71 lakh, while Kathua, Samba, Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar registered several lakh visits each year. Foreign tourist presence remained largely limited to Reasi.
On infrastructure, the Minister said six tourism projects worth Rs 519.58 crore were sanctioned in Jammu and Kashmir under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme’s Himalayan Circuit, and all have been physically completed. The scheme has since been revamped as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 with an emphasis on sustainable destinations.
The Jammu Tourism Department is also promoting the seven lakes of Rajouri and Poonch through publicity campaigns, travel marts, digital outreach and local promotional events, the reply stated.
The data were provided by the Union Territory government and tabled in Parliament on February 5, 2026.
