Tourism in India’s Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been severely hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the abrogation of Article 370 last year.
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourists to Jammu and Kashmir this year till June 2020, stood at about 2.5 mn, which includes domestic 5,056 foreign tourists, and to Ladakh about 6,079 that includes 5,019 domestic tourists and 1,060 foreign tourists.
In the full year 2019, 1.62 crore visitors came to Jammu and Kashmir and more than 2.79 lakh tourists to Ladakh Of these, about 1.61 crores were domestic tourists and 57,920 people were foreign tourists, as per the provisional data. The number of visitors to Jammu and Kashmir is also lower compared to 2018, when the tourist numbers stood at over 1.72 crores, including 1.70 crore domestic tourists and over 1.39 lakh foreign visitors.
According to analysts, the steep decline in the number of tourists to the Ladakh region was a key concern; and the administration of Jammu & Kashmir should now take steps to unlock breathtaking tourist destinations to the public, as well as promote them in domestic and in foreign arenas and brand J&K tourism.
Since the end of March 2020, there has been no tourism happening. But, going forward, the tour operators are hoping that there would be a gradual revival, and the government would facilitate the movement of tourists at least within the country.
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