World Tourism Day: Over 30,000 foreigners among 1.6 cr Tourists visit Kashmir this year so far
Srinagar: On World Tourism Day, Sep 27, Kashmir, as per official records registers 1.6 crore arrivals including 30K plus foreign guests.
Official sources said that 1.6 crore tourists visited the valley in the last eight months including 3100 foreign tourists.
From solo bag packers to groups, this figure includes the domestic tourists who have visited from different states after due promotion by the government and private tourism players.
Apart from this number, a total of 31,000 foreign guests have visited the Valley, the sources said.
Last year a total of 26.73 lakh tourists visited Kashmir, which was the highest number ever seen in the last three decades. Out of 26.73 lakhs, 19954 foreigners had visited the valley last year.
Given the record-breaking tourist flow and promotion of Kashmir as a leading destination of the world, the tourism department has bagged the best tourism award this year.
Currently, ahead of the festival season, the bookings for the valley have gone up 30 per cent, which indicates that October and November are going to be lucrative months of the year for Kashmir tourism, KNO reported.
While the administration is expecting to see an all-time high figure this year, tourism players claimed that the successful G20 followed by the robust campaigning by the tourism department has revived tourism in Kashmir.
Talking to KNO, Tourism Secretary Syed Abid Rashid said that the special focus is on rural tourism and homestays. “Demand-driven infrastructure building is the top priority of the tourism department,” he said,
On World Tourism Day, tourists enjoy a Shikara ride on Dal waters in Srinagar conveying the World Tourism Day 2023 ‘Tourism and green investment’. Photo Javed Khan
