Industry & Economy
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Tourism
Tourist arrivals in J&K on the rise
Our Bureau
Chennai
,
Dec. 21
AFTER a gap of 10-12 years domestic as well as foreign tourists are flocking to Jammu and Kashmir, and there has been a substantial increase in the number of tourists visiting the region in the last 12 months, according to Mr Jugal Kishore, Minister for Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir.
The number of tourists to Kashmir declined sharply in the last decade due to increased militancy. However, in the last two years, tourists are coming back to Kashmir even as militancy in the State has reduced sharply, he told newspersons.
In 2004, around 7 lakh tourists visited Kashmir as against 5 lakh the previous year. The Leh region attracted around 50,000 foreigners this year, and around 10,000 foreigners visited Kashmir in the last 12 months.
Ladakh attracted around 40,000 foreigners this year, he said.
The religious tourists to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in 2004 increased to 60 lakh when compared to 54 lakh last year. Similarly, the Amarnath Yatra attracted around 4 lakh devotees this year as against 1.5 lakh last year, he said.
According to Mr Kishore, the number of tourists from South India to J&K has been relatively poor over the years. And, to boost the number of tourists from Tamil Nadu, the J&K Tourism Department will soon sign an agreement with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department to enable tourists here book accommodation and tour packages in J&K, he said.
Mr Kishore said he had discussions with his Tamil Nadu counterpart today in this regard, and that J&K has similar agreements with other States, including Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
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