{"id":89149,"date":"2025-07-04T00:42:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T19:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/?p=89149"},"modified":"2025-07-04T00:42:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T19:12:20","slug":"anantnag-witnesses-tourism-boom-over-1-5-lakh-visitors-in-two-weeks-at-four-destinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/04\/anantnag-witnesses-tourism-boom-over-1-5-lakh-visitors-in-two-weeks-at-four-destinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Anantnag witnesses tourism boom; over 1.5 lakh visitors in two weeks at four destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reopening of Kokernag, Achabal, Daksum, Verinag sparks tourist influx<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anantnag, Jul 03 (KNO): The Anantnag district has witnessed a remarkable surge in tourist footfall, with over 1.5 lakh visitors thronging four prominent destinations\u2014Kokernag, Achabal, Daksum, and Verinag\u2014between June 17 and July 1. This spike comes in the wake of the recent reopening of these sites, which were temporarily closed due to security concerns following the Pahalgam terror attack.<\/p>\n

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As per official records, a total of 150,994 tourists visited the four parks during this two-week period. Kokernag attracted the highest number of visitors, recording 45,523 footfalls. Achabal followed with 40,870, while Verinag drew 38,795 tourists. Daksum, known for its scenic landscapes, saw 25,806 visitors. Among the total visitors, 30 were foreign nationals.<\/p>\n

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While Verinag is managed by its own Development Authority, Kokernag, Achabal, and Daksum fall under the jurisdiction of the Kokernag Development Authority (KDA).<\/p>\n

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Speaking to the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Mohammad Rouf Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of KDA, said: \u201cThese destinations were closed for a brief period due to security concerns. They were reopened on June 17, and since then, Kokarnag, Daksum, and Achabal have witnessed an overwhelming response. The ongoing summer vacations and the intense heatwave across the plains have also contributed to the rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rahman said that Kokarnag continues to bustle with activity, with full occupancy at guesthouses and peak crowd levels throughout the day. \u201cKokarnag is not just a garden\u2014it spans across nearly 80 kilometres. To manage the growing number of tourists, we have extended the garden hours until 7 PM, implemented better traffic regulation on all approach roads, and deployed our entire staff to ensure a seamless experience,” he added.<\/p>\n

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The CEO said the development authority is actively working on new development proposals and infrastructure upgrades aimed at enhancing Kokarnag\u2019s tourism appeal. \u201cOur goal is to make Kokarnag the second-most visited destination in south Kashmir after Pahalgam. With the Amarnath Yatra currently underway and movement restrictions in place around Pahalgam, we see an opportunity to attract more tourists to Kokarnag,” he said.<\/p>\n

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Efforts are also being made to shift Kokernag\u2019s perception from a daytime picnic spot to a destination suitable for overnight stays. \u201cWe are encouraging local residents to establish homestays and guesthouses. A few foreign tourists have already started arriving. With better accommodations, we expect those numbers to grow,\u201d the CEO said.<\/p>\n

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He stressed the importance of boosting the local economy, saying, \u201cTourism supports hundreds of shopkeepers and vendors. When footfall is high, the entire population benefits.\u201d\u2014(KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reopening of Kokernag, Achabal, Daksum, Verinag sparks tourist influx Anantnag, Jul 03 (KNO): The Anantnag district has witnessed a remarkable surge in tourist footfall, with over 1.5 lakh visitors thronging four prominent destinations—Kokernag, Achabal, Daksum, and Verinag—between June 17 and July 1. This spike comes in the wake of the recent reopening of these sites, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kashmir"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89149","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=89149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89151,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89149\/revisions\/89151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}