After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, about 90% of the people have cancelled their travel bookings. Tourists want to get out of the valley as soon as possible, so they are reaching Srinagar to catch flights. People there are afraid of losing their jobs. The economy here is heavily dependent on tourism, so it may suffer losses. In the last few years, after the efforts of the government, both peace and economy were seen coming back on track in the valley. Now after 26 people were killed in the Pahalgam attack, tourism and related sectors may get a big shock. In this story, we will talk about the state of tourism after the attack and the immediate and long-term impact it will have on the economy of JK… 1. Immediate impact: Bookings are being cancelled, break on tourism during peak season 2. Economic loss: Impact on local businesses including hotels, taxi services The economy of Jammu and Kashmir is largely dependent on tourism. Therefore, it will affect local businesses including hotels, restaurants, taxi services and pony operators. Tourism contributes ?16,100-18,400 crore to J&K’s ?2.30 lakh crore GDP in 2023-24. Of this, the hotel business alone is worth ?6,900-9,200 crore. The drop after the 2019 Pulwama attack is expected to reduce business by 30-50% after the attack. The tourism sector accounts for about 8% of J&K’s state GDP Per capita income increased by about 148% in 10 years Jammu and Kashmir’s per capita income (PCI) grew by about 148% between 2014-15 and 2024-25. The projected PCI for 2024-25 is ?1.55 lakh. According to the state’s Economic Survey, J&K’s per capita income is below the national average; But this gap is decreasing, as the ratio of Jammu and Kashmir’s PCI to the country’s PCI has increased from 71.9% in 2014-15 to about 77.3% in 2024-25. 3. Long term impact: Fear of job loss, damage to economy Damage to Kashmir’s tourism image: Kashmir’s tourism sector was recovering from decades of militancy. The situation was becoming normal and more people were reaching Kashmir. In 2024, 2.35 crore tourists came, including about 65,000 foreigners. Industry experts believe that this attack could damage Kashmir’s tourism image. Fear of job loss: The tourism industry directly or indirectly employs a large part of Kashmir’s population. Tour operators and hotel owners may have to lay off people due to cancellations and reduction in bookings. Hotelier Suhail Ahmed said – this attack could “ruin” the tourism-dependent economy. What will happen to the hotel industry worth Rs 9,200 crore? There are around 5500 big and small hotels registered on various online hotel booking websites in Jammu and Kashmir. These include around 55 5 star hotels, around 150 4 star hotels, around 3500 3 star and below hotels, around 100 luxury hotels and around 1500 houseboats. The hotel business contributes 3-4% to the state’s economy, i.e. around ?6,9009,200 crore annually. FICCI JK Chair Rajesh Sharma had told last year that Taj Vivanta is adding 20 new rooms. International investors like Abu Dhabi’s Lulu Group have also entered this sector and built a mall in Srinagar. Apart from this, many groups are showing interest in starting hotel business here, but such incidents can have a very bad effect on the projects of these companies.
