Jammu Kashmir’s lifeline was tourism, and it has been revived for the better

 Jammu and Kashmir tourists: The land of Jammu and Kashmir has always been an integral part of the Indian civilisation. It has seen only terrorism in the past but the time has come for it to witness an economic boom. Especially, after the abrogation of Article 370, it gained an altogether a new facet of development. The recent reporting of the highest tourist appearance is evidence of that.

Jammu and Kashmir is welcoming it’s highest ever number of tourists

Reportedly, the Directorate of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) of the Jammu and Kashmir government has noticed the highest footfall of tourists since the India got Independence in 1947. This development has started making rounds in media reports after the trade and industries minister, Piyush Goyal tweeted about the same. The tourism sector is enjoying a boom since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s led government revoked J&K’s special status in 2019.

While mentioning the highest number in 75 years, Goyal said that 16.2 million tourists had visited since January. He said, “Kashmir coming alive! The government’s transformative initiatives and reforms to uplift Jammu and Kashmir have given a major thrust to tourism.”

As per media reports, in first eight months of the year 2022, 20.5 lakh tourists, including 3.65 lakh Amarnath Yatris, visited Kashmir. 20 lakh tourists visited the Kashmir Valley. All hotels and guesthouses in Srinagar, along with tourist places like Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonmarg, remained 100 percent full during the season.

Notably, it came after a day Union Minister Amit Shah said that the region was earlier a terrorist hotspot. However, it has now become a tourist hotspot due to the various governmental policies.

Read more: Jammu and Kashmir is changing, once and for all

Tourism boost in J&K after abrogating Article 370

J&K has a huge opportunity for tourism and real estate, given its scenic natural beauty and weather condition. Locations in the union territory can also be developed as summer houses for the affluent people from neighbouring regions like Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. The per capita income of the state can grow manifold with tourism, just like other states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. However, so far these developments were not possible given the discriminatory laws against investment from other parts of the country in the union territory.

But the abrogation of Article 370 gave a wide spectrum of development to Jammu and Kashmir. Its tourism, particularly, received a huge boost. As reported by the Economic Times, Jammu and Kashmir got a major boost in 2022 as the government made a record budgetary allocation of INR 786 crore, an increase of 184 percent over the allocation of the previous year.

The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department and the Union Tourism Ministry’s data shows that between October 2021 and March 2022, at least 80 lakh people visited the UT. Further, the number of tourists between January and May 2022 jumped to 700,000, over four times the 12,50,000 seen in the the same period in 2021.

Read more: This is how Post Article 370 Kashmir looks like

Jammu and Kashmir: from terrorism to a destination of investment

Ever since Article 370 was revoked, business leaders started approaching for potential investment in Jammu and Kashmir. After the removal of Article 370, the region attracted a total investment of Rs 63,300 crores. It aptly shows that the state has not only witnessed a substantial decrease in terrorism-related incidents, but it has also seen an exponential rise in livelihood opportunities for the average Kashmiris.

From resonating terrorism to attracting lucrative investments, Jammu and Kashmir has come a long way now. Kashmir has everything which makes it attractive for investments. Cheap labour, welcoming people, cold and conducive environment, less environmental concern and now improved law and order. It is now gradually reviving its glory and serving people the essence of a paradise.

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