K Srinivasan
“Images and videos of gunshots ringing out in a meadow, bloodied bodies lying on the ground, and people fleeing across a dry river bed have shattered Kashmir’s emergence as India’s new tourism hotspot. The region’s strikingly beautiful mountains, valleys and grand Mughal-era gardens had drawn record tourist arrivals stemming from five years of relative safety. Supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had touted the tourism boom as among his signature achievements. But Tuesday’s attack by suspected militants who killed at least 26 tourists and wounded many more in Kashmir’s scenic Pahalgam area, known for its glowing Himalayan peaks and fast-flowing streams, has left panicked tourists seeking an early exit at the start of the busy summer season.’’ This is verbatim from the news report filed by wire service Reuters about the massacre in Pahalgam on April 22.
Top tourist hub
Now here are the bare facts: J&K was one of the top three tourist destinations last three years; after years and years of catastrophic downslide in tourism with little interest from the rest of India to travel to the Valley. Business was on the upswing, in fact booming, and in 2024 Jammu and Kashmir had a record 2.3 crore tourists in 2024 (against 2.1 crores in 2023) – this included 65,000 plus foreign visitors, 5 lakh plus Amarnath pilgrims, and 94.50 lakh plus Vaishno Devi pilgrims.
What will now happen is that the Valley, which is critically dependent on its tourism economy, will see a mountain of cancelled trips to the region. In fact, the danger is that. J&K’s economy which, grew at over 7 per cent last year, will cave in thanks to the Pahalgam tragedy. As Jyoti Mayal, a former president of TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India), told the media: ‘’Rebuilding Kashmir’s image as a safe destination will be a complex challenge. Foreign tourist arrivals will surely be affected the most due to the attack and subsequent travel advisories. Some countries till now have not removed their advisories. Now, there will be many more to follow.”
Snowless winter
It is only recently that the Valley had recouped from the disastrous dry winter. That had impacted the winter tourism. The snowless winter in the Valley saw a 30-50 per cent drop in tourist footfall and also led to the postponement of the Khelo India Winter Games by over a month. Kashmir has emerged as the leading destination for domestic travellers during the summer holidays, with seven out of ten bookings for the Valley from two of India’s most peripatetic regions – Gujarat and Bengal. Early reports suggest that cancellations are also the heaviest in these regions.
In 2002, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had described connecting Kashmir to the rest of India by rail as a “national project.” In 2008, a 68-km section from Anantnag to Mazhom was opened by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Two sections were inaugurated in 2009 – a 32-km section from Mazhom to Baramulla and an 18-km section from Qazigund to Anantnag, followed by the 18-km Qazigund-Banihal section in 2013. In 2014, PM Modi inaugurated the 25-km Udhampur-Katra stretch. The USBRL’s (Udhampur– Srinagar–Baramula Rail Link) – the Sangaldan-Banihal (48 km) section – was commissioned 14 months ago.
Rail connectivity
It was expected that this rail link, when fully operational and connected with inbound trains in Jammu, would act as a further incentive for more tourists to travel to the valley. Well, that will not happen for some time. On the contrary, it is going to be a Herculean task for the administration to keep the line going safely. As one travel agent put it perceptively, this is the first time that an attack has specifically targeted tourists.
If indeed Kashmir has to get back on its feet, it is the locals who will now have to take it upon themselves to unequivocally call out the militants. The hartal in J&K on April 23 was complete with political parties, trader’s unions, and travel agents all coming together to condemn and protest what happened. They know and fully understand the consequences of the tragedy Sadly, while they have expressed their anguish, rebuilding tourism in the valley is going to take a long long time.
