3 years of abrogation of Article 370: How tourism in Jammu and Kashmir has changed?

New Delhi, Aug 05: August 5 is the day when Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in 2019. Today, it is the third anniversary of the historic decision, which left a deep impact on the region. On August 5, 2019, Articles 370 and 35(A) were nullified that gave the erstwhile state its special status and the mandate to define its domicile rules.

While political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have vowed to continue their struggle for restoration of statehood, the tourism sector witnessed remarkable achievements after the government allocated Rs 786 crores to the industry. This marked a 184 per cent increase in the funds allocated to tourism sector in comparison to the previous year.

The tourism industry witnessed a financial uptick with market players making profits after decades of turmoil. The fortuitous surge in tourist activities was primarily driven due to the development of infrastructure, improvement in connectivity and better law and order.

Jammu and Kashmir, which is considered the 'Crown of Incredible India', is now a global tourist destination. The highest-ever tourist footfall and air traffic have been recorded. Direct international flights were introduced to boost trade and tourism.

Tourists not only preferred to visit the Kashmir valley for leisure but the majority of them visited the UT for religious and adventure activities.

In April this year, the Srinagar International airport recorded the highest ever 102 to and fro daily flights as well as the highest footfall of 15,199 daily passengers. Seeing the year's footfall, the government is planning to build another terminal at Srinagar International Airport to cater to the increased rush in the future.

Kashmir's iconic Tulip Garden, one of the biggest in Asia which was opened on March 13 witnessed an all-time high number of arrival of visitors, locals as well as domestic tourists, this year since its establishment in 2007.

Thrilled by the inflow of tourists, various adventure activities have picked up in the valley resulting in creating more jobs and business opportunities for the locals. Recently, the thrilling and adventurous Jet Ski rides attracted tourists at world famous Dal Lake.

The UT administration has also taken several measures to attract tourists and get a mesmerising experience of visiting the Kashmir valley. At Ganderbal's Manasbal lake, the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department organised a festival to promote local art and culture, food and water sports activities.

Over 79 lakh tourists visited J&K between October 2021 to March 2022, which indicates that the prevailing situation is favourable to the growth of the tourism sector in the Union Territory.

Nevertheless, Union minister G Kishan Reddy also shared his opinions in regard to the Article 370. He said Jammu and Kashmir registered a "record footfall" of tourists at airports and sightseeing places in the last several months due to "transformative initiatives" of the Modi government such as the abrogation of Article 370.

"Thanks to @narendramodi govt's transformational initiatives like Abrogation of Article 370 TOURISM in J&K Gets Big Boost Record footfall of tourists at airports & tourist places Over 79 lakh TOURISTS Visited J&K between Oct 2021 and March 2022," the Union culture and tourism minister tweeted.

In a major intervention for the upliftment of the tourism sector in J&K, the Union government had made a record allocation of Rs 786 crore in the budget for the tourism sector there, which was Rs 509 crore higher than the last budgetary allocation, officials in Srinagar had said in February 2022.

The officials had added the intent of the massive budgetary allocation was to boost tourism and allied services in the union territory.