Srinagar, July 24: The Centre said on Wednesday that over one crore tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir till June 2024. Replying to a question in Parliament, Nityanand Rai, the Minister of State for Home, said that the tourism sector in the union territory has witnessed unprecedented growth post-abrogation of Article 370. He said that 34,70,834 tourists visited J&K in 2020 and since then there has been a consistent rise in the numbers.
In 2021, the number was 1,13,14,884 followed by 1,88,64,332 in 2022. Last year the number rose to 2,11,24,874; and till June this year, 1,08,41,009 tourists have visited the UT. “The government of Jammu and Kashmir has reported that several measures have been taken that led to significant improvement in tourism, including Tourism Policy 2020 and status of industry to the tourism sector for availing incentives under the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy 2021”, the MoS said.
After the overall improvement in the law and order situation, J& K has been witnessing a tourist boom for the last four years and this has helped the livelihood of thousands of people connected directly or indirectly with this industry. Other measures comprise availing of incentives under the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy- 2021 considering the status of industry to the tourism sector in the Union Territory. The government also notified the homestay guidelines to accommodate the increasing number of tourists and to give benefits to the locals from the economic gains.
