Pahalgam terror attack a body blow to tourism, and not just in Kashmir
Security personnel rush to the spot after terrorists attacked a group of tourists at Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir on April 22, 2025 | PTI That the bullets fired at hapless tourists in Pahalgam on Wednesday will be lethal for Kashmir’s just-reviving tourism industry goes without saying. But its impact will be felt not just in the troubled valley.
“Implications could be long term for Kashmir & short term for rest of India,” said M.K. Ajith Kumar, former ITDC general manager and chairman of the India Tourism Forum. “India’s tourism industry may be hit with cancellations of overseas visitors for a short term and likely rebound by the start of the tourist season by October.”
Already, with tourists present in Kashmir desperately looking to get out – flights from Srinagar to Indian metros are going at exorbitant rates of even 35,000 and more for a single one-way economy class ticket at the time of writing this article, it won’t be a hyperbole to say that Kashmir’s tourism revival is now ravaged beyond repair, at least for some time to come.
“This is a huge setback for tourism,” said Jyoti Mayal, chairperson of the Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council and former president of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), “It took the people of Kashmir a great while to build the state back for tourism. A beautiful Jammu Kashmir was evolving after many, many years, and this has again brought everything to a standstill.”
Tourism in Kashmir had revived after the lockdowns were lifted, with the government also going on an aggressive push to promote tourism from the rest of the mainland in an attempt to legitimise the revoking of Article 370. Domestic tourists increased from 26 lakh in 2022 to nearly 30 lakh last year, while even foreign tourist numbers reached 66,000. Alongside, the authorities were also trying their best to make prominent Western nations revoke their advisories warning against travelling to the region. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha had famously quipped, just a few weeks ago at the opening of the Sonmarg tunnel, that it was high time the narrative shifted from terrorism to tourism.
All that lies in tatters, like tulip petals after the season at Srinagar’s famed Tulip Gardens, which saw more than 8 lakh visitors in less than a month. And that’s a tragedy for a state whose economy had struggled over years of insurgency and was hoping to build itself back on the back of a tourism revival. Official estimates are that 7 per cent of the state’s GDP was dependent on tourism and hospitality, while some estimates put it closer to 9%. It was hoped that the ₹12,000 crore revenue from tourism presently would grow to ₹30,000 crore by the end of this decade.
In real terms, it is a humanitarian disaster, with as many as 2.5 lakh people depending on tourists coming to the land once referred to as ‘Heaven on Earth’. The timing also couldn’t be worse, as this is just the start of the summer season when the maximum number of Indians make a beeline for the salubrious and picturesque haven. The state’s 3,000 hotel rooms and 1,500 or so shikhara/houseboats are now very likely to go empty for the rest of summer, with cancellations already in full swing.
For authorities, there will be two very specific headaches beyond the quest to instil confidence in travellers. One is the Amarnath Yatra scheduled to start in June, while the other remains to ensure the train connectivity that has just been started with the rest of India operates without any security breaches.
Industry veteran Mayal does offer a roadmap forward. “We are a resilient nation, and I think it is time to show that we are not scared. I would still travel to Kashmir. We all should travel and show the world. I think tourism is the only thing that can bring peace.”
India