Skip links

Skip to Content
play

Live

Navigation menu

  • News
    • Middle East
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Ukraine war
  • Features
  • Economy
  • Opinion
  • Video
    • Coronavirus
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    • Podcasts
play

Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Tourism

‘More beautiful than Europe’: Kashmir tourism to hit 10-year high

Valley is attracting record tourism after easing of pandemic restrictions and some improvement in the security situation.

Tourists ride "Shikaras" or boats in the waters of Dal Lake
Tourists ride boats across the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]
Published On 6 Apr 20226 Apr 2022
facebooktwitterwhatsapp

The Indian-administered Kashmir region is attracting record numbers of tourists after the easing of pandemic restrictions and some improvement in the security situation, bolstering local businesses.

Tourist arrivals are set to touch a 10-year high this year after more than 340,000 tourists have come since January, local tour operators and government officials said, despite restrictions on foreign tourists and some recent incidents of violence.

Tourism plunged in Kashmir after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the region of its special status and autonomy in 2019.

Later, the COVID-19 pandemic cut domestic and foreign tourist inflows.

“We are seeing the highest-ever tourist arrivals in Kashmir this year with 0.18 million tourists arriving in March only,” Sarmad Hafeez, Tourism Secretary for Jammu and Kashmir told Reuters news agency, adding April arrivals could surpass March.

Along with horticulture and agriculture, tourism is an important industry for Indian-administered Kashmir, contributing about seven percent to its economy, according to government data.

Touting itself as “Paradise on Earth”, the disputed region is home to Dal Lake, which was a favourite centuries ago for Mughal emperors escaping the summer heat of India’s plains.

The lake’s famous houseboats are major attractions along with the nearby Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, Asia’s largest, and the region’s mountains and glaciers.

Hafeez said an advertising campaign across major Indian cities and the opening of new destinations were attracting more tourists.

Boatman Wali Mohammad Bhat, 54, said he had no work during the pandemic, “But, now I am earning 1,000 to 1,500 rupees ($13-$20) a day and we expect a good tourist season ahead.”

Many hoteliers and houseboat owners said tourists have booked rooms in advance for the next couple of weeks, and the earnings helped them to pay part of their debts.

After a gap of years, hoteliers, taxi drivers and tour operators are doing a brisk business, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, 75, a tour operator in Srinagar said.

“Hotels room tariffs have gone up by over 30 percent from the pre-COVID period, and there is a huge rush for bookings,” he said.

The rush is so strong that tour operators said they are having a hard time finding bookings for their clients as hotels are between 80 percent to 90 percent full and airfares have increased.

“Hotel rooms are not available in good locations,” said Pronab Sarkar, a New Delhi-based tour operator and the past president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Many high-end tourists from wealthier Indian regions such as Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai were opting for the Kashmir valley instead of destinations in Europe because of pandemic-related uncertainty, operators said.

“We have limited high-end accommodations and commercial transport services here which is a major challenge for us,” said Mohammad Yasin Tuman, Managing Partner Mascot Travels.

But the tourists are not bothered. Navdeep Singh and his wife Gurpreet Kaur came to Kashmir from Australia, saying they were mesmerised by its beauty.

“I have travelled all over Europe but this place is more beautiful. People are warm and friendly,” he said.

Tourists pose on parked "Shikaras"
Tourists pose on parked boats on the banks of the iconic Dal Lake. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]
Advertisement
Tourists visit Nishat Garden in Srinaga
Tourists visit Nishat Garden in the disputed region's main city of Srinagar. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]
Visitors walk inside Kashmir's tulip garden
Visitors walk inside the tulip garden on the foothills of the Zabarwan mountain range in Srinagar. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]
Tulips bloom inside Kashmir's tulip garden
Tourist arrivals are set to touch a 10-year high this year after more than 340,000 tourists have come since January, local tour operators and government officials said. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]
Girls take a selfie inside Kashmir's tulip garden
Girls take a selfie inside the tulip garden. Tourism plunged in Kashmir after the Modi government stripped the region of its special status and autonomy in 2019. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]
Visitors walk inside Kashmir's tulip garden
Along with horticulture and agriculture, tourism is an important industry for Kashmir, contributing about seven percent to its economy, according to government data. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]
Advertisement
Tourists ride "Shikaras"
Tourists ride boats at sunset on Dal Lake in Srinagar. [Danish Ismail/Reuters]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Community Guidelines
    • Work for us
    • HR Quality
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Apps
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2023 Al Jazeera Media Network