Srinagar: Fresh snowfall across the Kashmir Division has boosted winter tourism drastically. All the hotels and houseboats are fully booked for the month of January. According to government data, around 3 million tourists visited the Valley in 2024, breaking all the previous records, and the authorities now believe that the year 2025 is going to witness more tourist arrivals.

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The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has said that 2024 was one of the best tourist seasons in the Valley. The surge in the number of tourist arrivals was due to many factors, including adding more tourist attractions to the list. Jammu and Kashmir is now working to develop 75 new tourist destinations, 75 heritage and cultural sites, 75 Sufism and religious sites, and 75 adventure treks for attracting more tourists.

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“As far as the number of tourists visiting the valley since January 2024, we have received very good numbers of tourists in lakhs. We are hoping that in the coming time, we will have much more, as we have had great snow already. We are also getting connected via railways, and we are expecting a huge increase in the tourism arrivals. We had a great flow from southeast Asian countries and also Europe. We get a lot of Russian tourists for skiing. As far as Khelo India games are concerned, it will be a great idea to boost the winter tourism. We have a great winter going on, and it is also time for promotion so that Kashmir becomes a tourist destination. Our main focus will be the train, as every stratum of the people will visit the valley,” said Manzoor Pakhtoon, President, Houseboat Association.

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The total tourist footfall in 2024 was recorded at approximately 2.95 million, a notable rise from the 2.71 million visitors in 2023 and 2.67 million in 2022.

 

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There has also been a big increase in the foreign tourists’ arrivals. Compared to 37,000 foreign tourist arrivals in 2023, in 2024, 43,000 international visitors arrived in the Valley. The tourism industry is the second biggest industry in the Union Territory and adds around Rs 8,000 crore to the GDP.

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“It’s so cold here in Kashmir. We had seen these visuals in our dreams and are actually living a dream right now. It’s so wonderful here, especially the weather. I am wearing so many layers, and I love doing it. We went to Gulmarg and Sonamarg, and we are now travelling in Srinagar. I will go back and tell our families and friends to come here,” said Gorakh Bade, a tourist.

More tourists are arriving with fresh snow across all the higher reaches in the valley.

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“It’s the real paradise on earth, we enjoyed it so much. We had heard of this but are now witnessing it in real life. It’s just wonderful. We are very happy, and we will go back and tell our families, friends, and colleagues that they should also visit Kashmir. We have made so many videos in the snow,” said Mangal Subhash, a tourist.

The government is now building eco-friendly infrastructure to standardise tourism products and services, and targeted marketing strategies are being employed to contribute significantly to J&K’s tourism potential.