Datanomics: Terror attack casts shadow on tourism sector of Jammu & Kashmir

The terrorist strike in Pahalgam has not only claimed 26 lives but also dealt a heavy blow to reviving the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir. 

With attractions such as Vaishno Devi temple, Amarnath cave, Raghunath temple, Mansar Lake, Gulmarg, Dal lake, and Pahalgam, tourism offers immense potential for the union territory’s (UT) economy. 

Focusing on non-tax revenues (NTR) to boost its receipts, the UT saw tourism's share in NTR rise to 0.5 per cent in 2024–25 (till December), up from 0.3 per cent in 2023–24 and 0.2 per cent in each of the two preceding years. With data for the remaining three months still awaited, tourism-related NTR has already surpassed the 2023–24 level and is more than double that of each of the previous two years. 

Recognising the sector's potential, the Union Territory formulated a tourism policy in 2020, aiming to generate employment for approximately 50,000 people annually and attract an average investment of ₹2,000 crore per year over five years. 

As many as 23.6 million tourists visited the UT in 2024, double the number in 2021. This enthusiasm may be broken, at least for a while, by the militant attack on Tuesday.