Beyond the instant serving of horror and shock, the impact of the Pahalgam terror attack will endure for a long time. That was evident when the bodies of the tourists killed reached far corners of the country, thousands of kilometres away from the now-bloodied mountain resort, and immense grief coupled with anger pervaded the funerals. While the attack certainly has left an indelible mark on the nation’s psyche, it is bound to leave a large footprint on Jammu and Kashmir’s economy, particularly its tourism sector.
The attack had an immediate impact on tourism in J&K, suddenly interrupting a remarkable recovery story that promised much to a struggling population. The number of tourists to Kashmir alone had grown by 425 percent between 2021 and 2024 (from 6.65 lakh to 34.98 lakh), and in 2024, J&K received 2.35 crore tourists, including around 65,000 foreigners.
Tourism in the border state was undoubtedly on a happy uphill climb when the machinations of the Pakistan-founded terror factory threw it into a tailspin. The impact on J&K tourism has serious repercussions for other Himalayan states. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and even faraway Darjeeling and Sikkim anticipate a spike in tourist inflow this summer that they are unprepared for. An increased tourist footfall is welcome, but these places are already struggling to handle the summer rush from all parts of the country. A further increase in tourist numbers would seriously strain the tourism infrastructure in these states and hamper their sustainable tourism plans. Neither is desirable from the tourism or ecological points of view.
So, it is crucial to revive J&K’s tourism normalcy. Crippling the resurgent Kashmiri lives is what the perpetrators of the terror intended, and that, unfortunately, is what’s happening. Stories, voices, and visuals emerging from the Vale of Kashmir show how much the people enjoyed the sense of normalcy and how they dread returning to uncertain times. India can’t let a few terrorists destroy the gains it made.
While devising and implementing steps to contain and destroy cross-border terror networks and their sponsors, it is essential to ensure Kashmiris don’t suffer. India’s actions against terror must accompany reassurances to Kashmiris of their wellbeing. This is the time to stand with them, not isolate them in the name of terror and religion.