Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has recorded the arrival of 1.62 crore tourists this year, the highest number of tourists in an annual year since independence.

After three decades, Kashmir is attracting lakhs of tourists and officials say that it is the return of the golden era of Kashmir tourism.

The record number of tourists, who visited Jammu and Kashmir this year, testify to the overall development and change that has taken place in the Union Territory, officials noted.

According to the Tourism department, "Tourism is the biggest source of employment in Jammu and Kashmir and since the start of this year, 1.62 crore tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir so far and this is the highest in 75 years of independence. "

Tourism has generated maximum employment in various regions of Jammu and Kashmir including Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and the Kashmir Valley.

For the last 70 years, people were demanding international flights from Jammu and Kashmir. Fulfilling this popular demand, the government has started a direct flight from Srinagar to Sharjah.

Recently, a comprehensive Film Policy was launched to attract filmmakers for shooting after decades and within a year of notification of this policy, as many as 140 shooting permissions for films and web series have been issued.

Soon, a film studio will be launched with state-of-art facilities.

Various other models and schemes are also being launched to promote tourism here. 75 offbeat tourist destinations are also being developed in Jammu and Kashmir as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.

Despite setbacks faced due to the Covid pandemic, the UT administration has taken sufficient steps for the revival of tourism in J&K and for providing employment to individuals associated with the sector.

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Notably, a number of policy interventions have been made to provide financial support to various stakeholders associated with the tourism sector.