May 30 – Kashmir has witnessed over a million tourist arrivals till mid-May, with the J&K administration gearing up for record-breaking tourist numbers this year.
This year, Kashmir is experiencing a significant tourism boom, including a promising increase in foreign arrivals. Hotels, houseboats, and homestays are seeing full occupancy this season. “We have already received more than a million tourists till mid-May. We are having a good season compared to last year with promising foreign arrivals,” said Raja Yaqoob, Director of Tourism Kashmir.
He expressed optimism about surpassing previous records, given the sustained flow of tourists throughout winter, spring, and summer so far.
“The previous year’s record of mammoth tourist arrivals will be broken this year. We are ready for a record-breaking number this year,” Yaqoob added.
Yaqoob noted that, besides the main tourist destinations, offbeat places like Daksun, Doodhpathri, and others are also receiving a significant number of tourists this year. “The good thing is that we see tourists exploring offbeat destinations in Kashmir. From Daksun to Doodhpathri, Keran, and other places, tourists love to explore them,” he said.
The Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) supports the director’s observations, stating that the summer season is fully booked with tourists from across India and worldwide. “We are witnessing an uninterrupted flow of tourists currently. We expect this flow to sustain for the rest of the months and hope to break previous tourism records,” a TAAK representative said.
The valley is currently receiving bulk tourists from Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, where the temperatures are abnormally high this season. “Currently, a higher flow of tourists is being witnessed from Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Chennai. We are also receiving a good number of tourists from Bangalore,” Yaqoob mentioned.
Hoteliers reported that all hotels are fully booked until the second week of June. “We have 100 percent occupancy right now. As summer vacations will be over in Maharashtra and Gujarat in the second week of June, we expect tourists from New Delhi and Punjab to start arriving from June onwards. We anticipate the tourist flow to continue throughout the year,” said Waheed Ahmad Bazaz, a hotelier.
Houseboat owners stated that the current heatwave across the country has increased the flow of tourists to Kashmir. Manzoor Ahmad Pakhtoon, President of the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association, said that the occupancy in houseboats is ‘satisfactory.’ “With the prevailing heatwave in the rest of India, we are witnessing good bookings and occupancy. We expect the flow to continue for the rest of the months as well, especially during the Amarnath Yatra,” he noted.
