JAMMU, MARCH 13: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today stated that the government is prioritizing the promotion of religious and tourism places in Srinagar city to boost tourism and attract more visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaces like Dal, Nishat, Shalimar, Chashmashahi, Pari Mahal, shrines, temples, gurudwaras, and other landmarks define the uniqueness of Srinagar. We are committed to promoting these destinations,\u201d the Chief Minister said while addressing the Legislative Assembly.<\/p>\n
He was responding to a query raised by Member Ali Mohammad Sagar regarding the tourism sector\u2019s role in J&K\u2019s economy and the steps taken to enhance tourist inflow.<\/p>\n
The Chief Minister emphasized that tourism is a key pillar of J&K\u2019s economy, significantly contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sector provides direct and indirect livelihood opportunities including hotel staff, tour operators, taxi drivers, souvenir vendors, and local youth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He further informed the House that efforts are underway to diversify the tourism sector by promoting various forms of tourism, including Adventure tourism.<\/p>\n
MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism, Golf tourism, Eco-tourism, Pilgrimage tourism and Cultural and Heritage tourism<\/p>\n
\u201cThis diversification is intended to attract a wider range of visitors to Jammu & Kashmir,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
As Minister in charge of the Tourism Department, the Chief Minister highlighted that the government is actively promoting J&K\u2019s top tourist destinations through advertising campaigns on national and international platforms.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Tourism Department is focusing on the development of off-beat destinations to expand tourism beyond traditional spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working on developing lesser-explored destinations like Gurez, Keran, Bungus, Tosamaidan, Aharbal, Doodhpathri, Machail, Bhaderwah, Sukrala Mata, and Pancheri to attract more tourists,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Chief Minister stated that tourist arrivals in J&K have seen a significant increase in the last two years. In 2023, J&K recorded 2,11,80,011 tourist visits and in 2024, the number increased to 2,35,90,081, he informed.<\/p>\n
The Chief Minister also provided an update on infrastructure-related projects undertaken by the Tourism Department over the last three years: In 2022-23, 984 projects were initiated, with 549 completed; In 2023-24, 1,191 projects were taken up, and 516 were completed and in 2024-25 (till date), 1,914 projects have been started, out of which 1,057 have been completed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur focus remains on strengthening tourism infrastructure, enhancing visitor experience, and ensuring sustained growth in the sector,\u201d the Chief Minister concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JAMMU, MARCH 13: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today stated that the government is prioritizing the promotion of religious and tourism places in Srinagar city to boost tourism and attract more visitors. “Places like Dal, Nishat, Shalimar, Chashmashahi, Pari Mahal, shrines, temples, gurudwaras, and other landmarks define the uniqueness of Srinagar. We are committed to promoting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jammu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86978"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86979,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86978\/revisions\/86979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}