The Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed multiple attacks in the last two weeks. Some of these attacks took place close to the tourist places like Gulmarg and Sonamarg and the tourism stakeholders in the Kashmir Valley were worried that it might impact the tourist inflow during the autumn season. But the ground reality is completely different as hundreds of tourists are arriving in the valley to witness the changing colours of Chinar trees during the autumn.
The tourists continue to flock to destinations like Gulmarg and Sonmarg even after the two attacks that took place close to these tourist sites in which eleven people were killed. But the tourists are unfazed by these attacks. As per recent data, every day around 7-8 thousand people arrive in Kashmir and among them 3-4 thousand are tourists.
“I love it here, I am very happy to visit here and Kashmir is very lovely. It’s a paradise on earth. We are feeling very safe and there seems to be no problem or issue with the situation. Kashmir is very pretty, and I would tell all my friends to come and visit Kashmir,” said Shafaq Khan, a tourist.
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Local tourism seems resilient despite the attacks. A huge number of tourists coming during the festival season are enjoying the world-famous Dal Lake Shikara rides along with their families. The tourism stakeholders are expecting winter tourism to pick up as it has been in the last few years. Kashmir Valley is expecting record-breaking tourist arrivals this winter season.
“Last few years we have seen a great footfall of tourists in the valley, the summer season was great, and we had a lot of tourists and there was a little break but it’s due to holidays. We have Diwali coming up and people will be travelling around that time. We are getting a lot of queries. We have four seasons, and Kashmir has become an all-year destination. We are hopeful winters will be great as well. We are also making sure that tourists explore other places as well,” said Manzoor Pakhtoon, a person from the Houseboat Association.
Kashmir Valley has witnessed 2.6 million tourists this year from January to September. The number of foreign tourists also went up and was recorded at 35,254. The number is much higher (19 million) if the pilgrim tourists going to Amarnath and Vaishno Devi are included.
The tourism industry creates direct and indirect jobs for around 2.2 million people in Jammu and Kashmir. The government recently held Legends League Cricket and the first-ever international marathon event in Srinagar to further boost tourism in Kashmir.
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