According to Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home, more than 1 crore tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir by June 2024, representing unprecedented growth in the region’s tourism sector since the removal of Article 370.
In 2020, J&K welcomed 34,70,834 tourists, with numbers steadily increasing to 1,13,14,884 in 2021, 1,88,64,332 in 2022, and 2,11,24,874 in 2023. Until June 2024, 1,08,41,009 tourists had visited the Union Territory.
The government credits many initiatives, including the Tourism Policy 2020 and the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy 2021, which designate tourism as a sector eligible for incentives, for this rise. Along with the growth of unique locations like R.S. Pura, Gurez, Keran, and Teetwal, the industry has benefited from better law and order and programmes like the J&K Film Policy-2021 and Houseboat Policy-2020.
Additionally, Jammu and Kashmir is also rapidly rising in popularity as a site for adventure travel, golf, and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) tourism. The percentage of the state’s GDP attributable to the industry increased from 7.84% in FY 2019–20 to 8.47% in FY 2022–23.
