Tourism boom: 15.65 lakh tourist arrivals till June in Kashmir and counting

‘Homestays to hotels, Govt focuses on infra development as tourist number swells in Valley’

Mubashir Aalam Wani

Srinagar, Jul 05 (KNO): The administration is focusing on creation of demand- driven infrastructure to accommodate even swelling tourist numbers in future.

Kashmir post-pandemic has been witnessing a record breaking tourist number. Last year, Kashmir recorded a tourist flow of 27.1 lakh visitors including 4.5 lakh Amarnath pilgrims. Officials told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), this year till June as many as 15.65 lakh tourists including 26,000 foreigners have visited the valley.

With swelling numbers, the government is encouraging and promoting the development of accommodation for the tourists through-out the valley.

As per the official figures, Jammu and valley has witnessed an addition of 1,485 homestays boasting 13,000 rooms in the last few couple of years.

“To accommodate the increasing tourist flow and provide quality services, the Union Territory government devised homestay guidelines. More than 1,485 homestays with a bed capacity of 13,000 have been registered so far across Jammu and Kashmir,” official document said.

“This comes after the tourism sector was granted industry status, leading to enormous growth in investments. Initiatives are also being undertaken to involve local communities in tourism activities and ensure equitable benefit sharing,” the document said.

As per the figures accessed by KNO, currently the total registered capacity for tourist accommodation in Kashmir is 62,488 beds, which include all the hotels of A, B and C category and also the Guest Houses and Houseboats.

The ‘A’ category hotels in Srinagar have 8,778-bed capacity, ‘B’ category hotels in Srinagar have 7,036 bed capacity, ‘C’ category hotels in Srinagar have 10,500 bed capacity, Guest Houses have17,114 bed capacity and the registered operational Houseboats have 4,462 bed capacity.

An official from the tourism department said the creation of infrastructure is primarily being focused by the government in Jammu and Kashmir.

From homestays to new hotels, he said the government is encouraging the setting up of such ventures in the valley, which has been a focal point for tourists across the world.

“The valley is witnessing an increase in room strengths as new hotels, guest houses and huts have come up at various destinations. In coming years more facilities will be set up and upgraded to ensure sustained tourism in Jammu and Kashmir,” they said.

Pertinently, big hotel chains including Radisson, Lemon Tree have established their high-end hotels in Kashmir recently. The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India’s leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain, also announced the signing of 5 new hotels in Kashmir—(KNO)