Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism industry is finally getting back on its wheels

After years of lull, it seems like Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism is finally getting back on its wheels. For years, the state received very few tourists because of the prevalent violence surrounding the Indo-Pak crisis. But then, the Environmental Information System (ENVIS), a portal run by the Indian Government that provides information on environment and related subjects, has revealed that the state was visited by as many as 95 lakh domestic and international tourists in the last year alone.

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“These numbers reflect the commitment of various stakeholders towards the trade… and the support of domestic travellers,” says Mahmood Ahmad Shah, director of J&K tourism.


The reason for the returning fortunes of a state, which was once called ‘heaven on earth,’ is because of the various tourism related initiatives that are being initiated by Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism board. For instance, horticulture tourism, which creates awareness among tourists on the art of garden cultivation and management, has been attracting tourists to the state. Besides, Jammu and Kashmir has already been known as a place which is well endowed in botanical gardens and plantations of saffron, almonds, apples, apricots and even walnuts.

Sharing his thoughts on how Jammu and Kashmir has had a good start to the year in terms of tourism, Shah said, “It snowed before the new year and Gulmarg (a popular skiing destination) was completely sold out throughout the holiday season”.


Besides, he also drew attention to the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is the only state other than Delhi which has its very own tourist police ensuring safety of travellers visiting the state. “It’s a contingent of 300 officers under the senior superintendent of police, J&K, in addition to the security forces in all the tourist destinations to give a sense of confidence to travellers,” he said.