After record 2.7 million tourist arrivals in Kashmir last year, the valley is expecting another bumper tourism season this year.
In the first two months of 2023, over 2.5 lakh tourists have already visited Kashmir and with the onset of spring, the numbers are increasing with each passing day. The last time the valley saw tourists in large numbers was in 2012 when about 1.3 million travelers visited.
With the Tourism department and J&K Information Department coordinating with different film crews to shoot their songs and films in Kashmir during the current year, the valley is also once again becoming Bollywood's favorite destination.
Recently, Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhat were in ski-resort Gulmarg in north Kashir to shoot one of the movie songs and the social media was abuzz with their shooting schedule and the breathtaking visuals.
Director Tourism Kashmir, Fazlul Hafeez said tourism stakeholders in the Valley are upbeat about the tourist inflow and if all goes well, the tourist footfall will be better than last year.
“We have already identified 75 offbeat tourist destinations in the Valley and each of these offbeat destinations is open. We are trying to ensure basic infrastructure through home-stays and tented colonies at these places until hotels are constructed there,” he said.
Hafeez said with the help of the central government, footfall of foreign tourists is also increasing and they expect tourists from South East Asian and European markets. “More tourism road shows would be held in these countries to sell Kashmir as a safe and secure destination,” he added.
With Asia’s largest Tulip garden in Srinagar set to be thrown open to the public on March 19, authorities expect record visitors this year at the garden. Over 1.6 million flowers with 68 tulip varieties will be in full bloom to mesmerize the tourists for over three weeks staring from March 19.
Recently, the government has brought several border areas on tourism maps which include Keran, Machil, Tangdhar, Teetwal, Gurez, Bangus valley and other places to promote border tourism in J&K.
Hotels along Dal Lake’s Boulevard and those situated at other prime locations are full due to the influx of tourists from across the country. Hoteliers, houseboat owners, taxi and shikara operators, and restaurant owners are pleased to see this since it has boosted their revenues.
“After the lockdown in Kashmir in 2019 post abrogation of Article 370 all the hotels had become empty suddenly and Dal Lake stood deserted. In 2020 and 2021, Covid-19 pandemic hugely impacted the tourism sector. But since the start of 2022 there has been a surge in tourism and we are happy to see a tourism boom again,” said Arshid Ahmad, a restaurant owner.