With over 18,000 foreign tourists having visited Kashmir in the first five months of the year, tourism has well and truly picked up in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
The above-mentioned figure is higher than the total number of foreign tourists the region welcomed last year, which stood at 10,000 and the highest in the past three decades.
The formerly volatile region also witnessed a record number of tourists in 2022 and it seems the the government of Jammu & Kashmir wants to ride the wave of success, especially on the back of the successful conduct of the G20. Also, Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha’s decision to develop 139 acres of defence land at Tattoo Ground into a central tourism facility has given impetus to the development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a bid to further boost tourism in the union territory, the government of Jammu & Kashmir is planning to tap into religious tourism this time around.
As a result, as many as 75 destinations have been earmarked by the government to attract religious tourists.
“We are bypassing last year’s tourist influx this year by leaps and bounds,” Syed Abid Rashid Shah, Tourism Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, said recently, adding that the government’s efforts to promote lesser-known destinations had given them hopeful results.
“Additionally, 75 destinations have been earmarked for fostering spiritual experiences, and another 75 to enhance religious tourism within Jammu and Kashmir,” he revealed and added that the government is dedicated to spreading the charm of Jammu and Kashmir.
It must be noted that the governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu had also carried similar campaigns in Kochi and Chennai, respectively.
With inputs from Agencies