Security Still A Big Challenge

It is quite satisfying that after the poor tourism season in J&K post April 22, 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, India-Pakistan military conflict and a bad monsoon, the famous tourist destinations in the Valley have again started witnessing a major revival on New Year’s Eve, with hotels in Gulmarg and Sonmarg fully booked for the first time since the disruptions that played a spoilsport last year. Reportedly, the fresh snowfall on the eve of the New Year has led to a surge in tourist arrivals, bringing much-needed relief to an industry that suffered a severe setback in 2025.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Jammu and Kashmir had recorded a sharp rise in tourist footfall over the past few years. Even relatively unexplored areas and trekking routes across Kashmir saw a massive influx of visitors. However, the tourism sector—one of the Union Territory’s key economic pillars—was dealt a major blow in April 2025 just as it was preparing for the peak season, after the deadly attack at the popular Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir. The impact of the attack was felt throughout the summer and autumn tourist seasons.

Now, when the hopes have rekindled and the tourists have started heading towards Kashmir again, it is imperative that the centre and the J&K administration should ensure that all the security challenges should be countered effectively by plugging in all the gaps and ensuring failsafe Bandobast to counter any misadventure being carried out by the terror mongers because the UT cannot afford more disturbance on account of terrorist presence or their acts of violence.

Beyond any doubt, 2025 remained a bad year for J&K as far as tourism is concerned and therefore the people at helm should require taking all the precautions to ensure the safety of tourists and the other stakeholders to the fullest as any shortcoming can prove dearly, and ruin the prospects of booming tourism year ahead.

The people on the other hand should act as ears and eyes of the government and the security forces by reporting any suspicious activity or person to the nearest security facility without even wasting a jiffy as this is imperative to counter the terror related activities across J&K. The peace in J&K has been hard earned and therefore keeping the same intact is the responsibility of one and all associated with this region.

It is undeniable that peace, progress and prosperity are the prerequisite for promoting tourism and therefore all should work in tandem to achieve these targets in J&K to help the region retain its lost pristine glory at the earliest because much has been achieved in this direction in the last over one decade.