Jammu and Kashmir witnesses tourism boom, over 3 lakh tourists throng Gulmarg during winter season

The tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir is showing signs of revival after the Covid-19 pandemic caused a severe setback to the industry in the Union Territory.

Over 6 lakh tourists have visited the Valley since April 2021 till now, of which, more than 3 lakhs thronged Gulmarg during the winter season. Around 3,000-4,000 tourists are currently arriving in Kashmir every day and most of them are visiting Gulmarg, Kashmir’s famous ski resort.

Seeing huge rush over the past few months, the tourism department is also gearing up for the coming seasons and special plans have been chalked out so that number of tourists visiting UT doesn’t go down.

“Covid-19 wave is going to settle down somewhere from mid-February and we are expecting that the tourist flow will go up then. We have also planned to give tourists a new experience in the spring season when the wave will settle down.”

With Gulmarg draped in a white blanket of snow, the tourists have come fully prepared to settle with the weather condition. Many are enjoying the snow-clad slopes doing skiing, gondola ride and sledge ride.

Due to the pandemic, the Valley suffered huge losses in the past two consecutive tourism seasons. The budget class, that is 70 to 80 per cent of total tourist arrivals of Kashmir, was badly hit by coronavirus waves. But now, all the hotels in Gulmarg are occupied since November 2021 and bookings are likely to continue till the end of March 2022.

This, notably, has provided huge employment to locals and the continuous snowfall has also come in way of blessings for traders.

Zamir Ahmad, a tourist guide, said that the snowfall benefits a lot when tourists hear that it’s snowing.

Amol, who had come from Mumbai, expressed that he had never seen such snow in his life.

Not only tourists but locals are also camping in Gulmarg.

Hamas, a local skier, said, “It’s a beautiful place. We enjoy a lot playing with snow and doing skiing.”