Kashmir Tourism Shortfall

Kashmir’s tourism rebound is still incomplete a year after the Pahalgam attack, with visitor numbers far below the Valley’s 2024 peak. (moneycontrol.com) Moneycontrol reported that Kashmir drew about 1.78 crore tourists in 2025, down from a record 2.36 crore in 2024, a shortfall of roughly 58 lakh visitors. The attack in Baisaran near Pahalgam on April 22, 2025 killed 26 people, including 25 tourists and a local pony handler. (moneycontrol.com) The Valley itself had set its own record in 2024 with 34,98,702 arrivals, including 43,654 foreign tourists and about 5.12 lakh Amarnath pilgrims, according to the Jammu and Kashmir Economic Survey cited by The New Indian Express. That made the drop after April 2025 especially visible in places built around seasonal travel. (newindianexpress.com) Travel groups said the shock was immediate. More than 80 percent of bookings across Jammu and Kashmir were cancelled within days of the attack, and cancellations in Pahalgam reached 90 percent, Moneycontrol reported, hitting hotels, pony handlers, shikara operators and vendors during the main summer booking window. (moneycontrol.com) By April 2026, hotel occupancy across major Kashmir destinations was still only 30 percent to 50 percent, according to hoteliers quoted by The Economic Times. Mushtaq Ahmed Chaya of the Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Association said some parts of Kashmir were seeing occupancy closer to 20 percent to 25 percent, compared with sold-out conditions in 2024. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) Pahalgam’s own numbers show a partial return, not a full one. Official data reported by The Kashmir Horizon showed 9,93,596 tourists visited Pahalgam between April 2025 and April 2026, after the monthly count fell to 15,302 in May 2025 immediately after the attack. (thekashmirhorizon.com) The government has kept spending on tourism even as the recovery lags. Jammu and Kashmir’s 2025-26 budget set aside ₹390.20 crore in capital expenditure for the sector, up ₹121.77 crore from the revised 2024-25 allocation, according to budget coverage and official budget documents. (thehindubusinessline.com (jakfinance.jk.gov.in)) That push comes with a narrow deadline. Moneycontrol said the May-to-August season supports hundreds of thousands of livelihoods, and hoteliers told The Economic Times that booking inquiries are improving even though many travelers are still delaying firm plans. (moneycontrol.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) Kashmir’s tourism market has not collapsed, but it has not regained its 2024 footing either. The summer season that opens now will show whether a year of recovery can turn into a return to record traffic. (moneycontrol.com)