The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — Union Minister for Tourism, G K Reddy on Monday said that 1.05 crore tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir in the first six months of the year 2022.

Replying to a query by Mala Roy in Lok Sabha, the Union Minister, as per the news agency Kashmir News Observer, said that the tourism sector in J&K is one of the core sectors of the economy.

“As a result of the initiatives taken by the J&K Government in private as well as Government sectors, there has been a significant hike in the tourist footfall despite of the Covid challenges,” he said.

In the year 2020, he said, the tourist footfall was 41267, which has increased to 1.05 crores during the first six months (January-June) of the calendar year 2022.

He said that J&K has seen tourist flow in all the seasons during the period and that too high-end tourists, who have a good experience of quality services.

He added that this high influx of tourists has, directly and indirectly, benefited the local populace including the people living in far-flung areas of the UT.

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SRINAGAR — More than 1.43 lakh tourists visited J&K in December 2021 and the number of tourists who visited J&K since September 2021 is over 72 lakh, the Tourism Ministry said on Thursday.

While replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy, as per news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the winter season has witnessed 100 per cent occupancy of hotels in Srinagar and other tourist destinations.

He said that on June 28, 2021, the government announced a stimulus package to boost diverse sectors of the economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. "The package comprises a total of 17 measures in three broad categories, which include economic relief from pandemic with special focus on health and reviving travel and tourism sectors and impetus for growth and employment."

"The scheme will be subject to a maximum loan of Rs 10 lakhs each for Travel & Tourism stakeholders and up to rupees one lakh each for registered tourist guides. A Corpus of Rs 250 crore has been allocated under the scheme for a period of five years. Validity of the said scheme has been extended till 31-03-2023 or till the guarantee of Rs 250 crore is issued under the scheme, whichever is earlier. Since this is a Pan-India scheme, it is also applicable for the UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh," he added.

He said, "Domestic tourism is at its peak in the UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. It is corroborated with the Budget speech of the Finance Minister while presenting the budget of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for the year 2022-23. As per this, the Tourism sector is also registering an increase in the footfall of tourists."

"Around 1.43 lakh tourists visited Kashmir in December 2021 which is the highest in the last seven years. From September 2021 onwards, around 72.09 lakh tourists including pilgrim tourists visited Jammu & Kashmir which is much higher than the previous year. Winter season has witnessed 100% high-end hotel occupancy in Srinagar and at prominent tourist destinations, particularly Gulmarg and Pahalgam," the minister added.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse