Despite recent security concerns following the Pahalgam terror attack, the central government is pushing ahead with a major tourism revival initiative in Jammu and Kashmir. A combination of new investments, infrastructure upgrades, and promotional outreach is being deployed to unlock the region’s full tourism potential and boost economic growth.
Officials said the initiative seeks to portray Jammu and Kashmir as a safe, attractive, and year-round destination for both domestic and international tourists. Efforts are being made to ensure better coordination between tourism authorities and security forces to restore visitor confidence.
“Infrastructure development is underway at a fast pace under national programmes like Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD,” an official said. Improvements include enhanced road connectivity, sanitation, tourist facilities, and signage at key destinations such as Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam, and Srinagar.
The government is giving a major push to promotional efforts. Campaigns such as DekhoApnaDesh, Chalo India, and Bharat Parv are helping showcase the beauty, heritage, and cultural richness of Jammu and Kashmir. High-definition videos, images, and brochures are being promoted through media with the Incredible India Content Hub to attract tourists and tour operators worldwide.
One of the key features of this tourism push is diversification. In addition to the traditional summer destination, now the focus is on winter sports, hiking, spa breaks, village tourism, and food trails. This broad push towards multi-season and theme-based tourism seeks to reduce dependence on a short travel season and promote all-season economic activity.
At the grassroots level, the drive includes capacity development among the locals. Programs like Incredible India Tourist Facilitator, Capacity Building for Service Providers (CBSP), and ParyatanMitra are training youth, women, and entrepreneurs in hospitality, guiding, and customer service.
The human-resource impetus has the objective of creating skilled professionals who will feed into and benefit from the growing tourism industry.
Safety is a concern, but officials maintain that it is being addressed as part of the overall process to stabilize and grow the tourism economy. “We are not letting some isolated incident derail our long-term vision,” said one senior official in the tourism department. “Our initiative isn’t marketing it’s creating a complete, safe environment for tourism.”
Tourism has been the source of livelihood for Jammu and Kashmir’s economy, supporting employment, preserving culture, and generating local livelihoods.
With this on-going momentum, the Centre wants to position the state not just as a destination for tourism, but as an example of responsible and sustainable tourism.
As visitors return and faith picks up, the thrust goes on with an aim to make Jammu and Kashmir a year-round, world-class destination.
