Srinagar: The streets of Pahalgam town, bustling with tourists till Tuesday morning, now bear a deserted look. So do other parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of tourists have fled the state over the last 36 hours, availing of whatever transport they could arrange.
According to the state tourism department, there were nearly 100,000 tourists in the state on Tuesday, before the terror strike on the Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam. The gruesome attack left 26 tourists dead, and several others injured. On Thursday morning, barely a few thousand of them remained, busy making travel arrangements to get back home.
According to those involved in the tourism sector that is worth nearly Rs 12,000 crore in the state, over 12 lakh advanced bookings have been cancelled since Tuesday afternoon.
Babar Chaudhary, president of the Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association, told Jagran.com, that until August, around 1.2 million tourists – including those from abroad – had made advance bookings to visit the Valley and stay in local hotels and guest houses. Following Tuesday’s attack, tourists began cancelling their bookings and by Wednesday evening, there wasn’t a single tourist interested in traveling to Jammu and Kashmir.
Things have worsened with the US state department issuing a travel advisory to the country’s citizens against visiting the state.
According to Chaudhary, the recent landslides in Ramban have already impacted late April and early May tourism. The Baisaran incident came as a double whammy.
“We had hoped for a record tourist turnout this year, especially after a good winter season. The spring season had also started strong. The Tulip Garden alone attracted 8.5 lakh visitors within 26 days of its opening. We were now preparing for the summer season to ensure a comfortable stay for tourists. All our hopes have been dashed,” he said.
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