Srinagar, Feb 02 (KNO): Kashmir tourism has seen a very steep decline in tourist inflow as a mere 84,000 visitors arrived in the last 18 months in Kashmir — post abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
The numbers are just 0.8 percent tourists that had visited Kashmir valley annually as over one million tourists had visited valley in 2010-13. As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel informed the Parliament that 84,326 tourists visited Kashmir since August 5, 2019, after abrogation of special status of J&K.
He added that in the same period, 8,794,837 tourists visited J&K and 100,931 tourists visited Ladakh.
It is pertinent to mention here that few days before abrogation of special status of J&K, tourists in Kashmir were asked to immediately evacuate the region.
“Since, 5 August, 2019, the number of tourist arrivals in Jammu & Kashmir declined and the decline was witnessed more severely in Kashmir valley than in the Jammu division,” the minister told the parliament.
He however, said the tourist footfall in J-K is gradually increasing since last few months.
The number of tourist arrivals in Kashmir valley during the last 18 months is one of the lowest in recent years.
Kashmir valley had attracted a record million tourists annually in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014—(KNO)