SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government is hosting a national-level adventure tour operators convention to offset negative perception and revive tourism in the valley.
Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), a major tourism body, will be holding a three-day convention from December 18. More than 250 delegates, including some celebrities, are participating in the convention.
“Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) is a reputed organization in the country. They will be holding the annual convention in Kashmir. We are finalizing the arrangements for this event,” Waseem Raja, Joint Director, Tourism Department, Kashmir, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Kashmir tourism has received a severe blow after the Pahalgam attack. Before April 22, the valley was bursting at the seams with tourists. Over 5,25 lakh tourists had visited the valley in the first three months of 2025. These include 5,14,845 domestic and 10,427 foreign tourists.
A record 2.35 crore tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir in 2024.Domestic tourist numbers shot up tenfold, from 25.19 lakh in 2020 to 2.35 crore in 2024. However, everything came crashing down on April 22 when terrorists unleashed a bloodbath in Pahalgam. For the last eight months, the number of tourists visiting Kashmir has reduced to a trickle.
What added a final nail to the coffin was the IndiGo crisis. More than 90 percent of hotel bookings have been cancelled in the last few days.
“Over 90 per cent of bookings have been cancelled. Tourists who were already here are stuck because of cancellations,” Adil Khan, Secretary SQAL International, Jammu and Kashmir Club, told The Kashmir Monitor.
The government is pinning hope on the ATOAI convention to revive tourism in Kashmir. “This is a big-ticket event. We hope it will give a boost to Kashmir tourism. We are also holding several events during Christmas and New Year to attract tourists to Kashmir,” said Raja.
The tourism industry is the mainstay of Kashmir’s economy. According to the Economic Survey, the tourism sector contributes between 7% and 8% to the J&K Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). With the total GSDP estimated at Rs 2.65 lakh crore, tourism accounts for Rs 18,500 crore to Rs 21,200 crore. There are more than 5000 registered hotels and homestays in Kashmir alone. The majority of them have had either no booking or less than 10 percent post-Pahalgam attack.