Adverse travel advisories, Covid-19 mars Kashmir's prospect of hosting foreign tourists

Against 33,779 foreign tourists in 2019, the Valley hosted just 1,615 in 2021

At a time when Kashmir is bustling with the arrival of a record number of domestic tourists, the arrival of foreign holidaymakers saw a sharp decline in the last two years, due to adverse travel advisories and Covid-19.

According to official figures in 2017, 31,697 foreign tourists had arrived in Kashmir compared to 24,516 a year before. A year later in 2018, 31,413 foreigners visited Kashmir. In 2019, the numbers went up slightly with 33,779 foreign tourists visiting Kashmir.

However, the numbers started to plummet in 2020 with only 3,897 foreign holidaymakers visiting Kashmir as Covid-19 pandemic hit the world and the numbers further declined to 1,615 in 2021. Till the end of February this year, over 500 foreign holidaymakers visited Kashmir.

This is in contrast to the number of domestic tourists arriving in Kashmir. Despite uncertainties of Covid-19, more than six lakh domestic tourists visited Kashmir in 2021. In March this year 1.80 lakh domestic guests arrived in the Valley, which was the highest in the past decade.

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The rush of tourists can be gauged from the fact that the highest-ever 90 flights operated to and from Srinagar international airport, ferrying more than 15,000 passengers, mostly tourists on March 29.

The genesis of the decline in foreign tourists, as per tourism stakeholders, lies with the fact that the USA and majority of European countries have imposed adverse travel advisories to their citizens against visiting Kashmir. It creates a bad name and tourists shy away from traveling to this part of the world.

Before insurgency broke out in Kashmir in 1990, Valley’s serene environment used to attract a horde of backpackers to Kashmir from foreign countries. But as the violence scaled up, adverse travel advisories by various countries resulted in sharp decline in foreigners visiting Kashmir.

However, despite the improvement in the situation, the negative travel advisories continue to mar Kashmir's tourism sector. On March 30, the USA issued a new travel advisory urging its citizens to exercise increased caution and also advised them not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir and within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border.

Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club, Mushtaq Chaya believes adverse travel advisories mar Kashmir's prospect of hosting foreign travelers. “We have taken up the issue with the central government and are hopeful of some good results in future,” he said.

Chaya hopes the recent visit of foreign investors is a good sign which will send a positive message across the globe and dispel notions among foreigners about Kashmir.

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