The G20 Tourism Meet under the presidency of India is a major push to promote tourism and trade in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Tourism plays an important role in the economic contribution of the region. According to the annual report 2022 of the tourism department, for the first time in history, a total of 1.89 crore tourists visited the Union Territory (UT) last year. Among these, over 91.20 lakh were pilgrims of Mata Vaishno Devi while 3.65 lakh were recorded for the Amarnath Yatra, and 19,985 were foreign tourists.
As per available data, 1.63 crore tourists visited the Jammu division from January to December 21, 2022. These include more than 1.62 crore domestic tourists with 38 foreign tourists. In 2021, out of a total 1.7 crore tourists, 1.62 crore were domestic, and 36 foreign.
Following the Covid pandemic, Kashmir is again attracting foreign tourists as their footfall in the Valley witnessed a significant spike in 2022. The visit of tourists to the Valley during 2022 was the highest ever at 26.7 lakh, against the previous highest of around 13 lakh in 2016. The largest number of 3,140 foreign visitors reached the Kashmir valley in August 2022. As per the UT tourism department’s official data, in 2020, a total of 3,897 foreign tourists visited Kashmir, while in 2021, the number decreased to 1,614. However, in 2022, it broke all records as about 19.9 thousand foreigners visited the region. There is a rise in the number of domestic tourists as well with 22.8 lakh visitors in comparison to 2021 with only 6.64 lakh visitors.
Gardens or parks are also playing a significant role in the revenue generation and advancement of the tourism sector in the UT. According to the floriculture department of J&K, by the end of the Financial Year (FY) 2022-23, or ending February 2023, the revenue generation from various gardens reached 11.27 crore rupees on account of entry tickets, permission for videography, and the sale of plant material collectively. The famous Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden attracted more than 3.7 lakh tourists, including around 3.2 lakh domestic and more than 3,000 foreign tourists in 2023. Last year, 3.6 lakh tourists visited the tulip garden.
The tourism sector has huge potential for employment generation in the region. Revenue expenditure for the tourism sector in the union budget this time increased by 5.70% from the previous edition. Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, chief secretary, J&K, mentioned in the report, “A comprehensive Tourism Policy has been drawn in the year 2020 which among other things aims to generate employment for approximately 50 thousand people per year and to attract average investment target of Rs. 2000 Crore per year for next 5 years.”
According to the Economic Survey for the closing FY 2022-23 by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, J&K, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of the UT at the current prices is expected to set a growth of 15%, whereas as per the budget Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of the UT has been projected at Rs 2,30,727 crore with a growth of 10% over the previous year.
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