Tourism: Trends and Impact
Tourism is the biggest private service industry of J&K.
Size
- Contributes about 7% of UT GDP and supports about 5 lakh livelihoods (Economic Survey 2025-26). An earlier reply to Parliament gave 7.84% (2019-20) and 8.47% (2022-23).
- Over 16,500 registered beds in hotels and homestays.
- 72 film and OTT projects shot in J&K in the past year; destination weddings are growing.
Tourist arrivals
| Year | Arrivals (crore, rounded) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1.13 |
| 2022 | 1.88 |
| 2023 | 2.11 |
| 2024 | 2.36 (including 65,452 foreign visitors): the highest ever |
| 2025 | 1.78 (including about 36,000 foreign visitors) |
Why 2025 fell
The Survey links the slowdown to the April 2025 terror attack at Pahalgam, which cut inflows and "tourism-related services", and to floods and landslides in August-September 2025.
Pilgrim tourism
- Vaishno Devi (Katra): 94.56 lakh pilgrims in 2024.
- Amarnath Yatra: 5.12 lakh yatris in 2024.
- Most visits count the Jammu region (pilgrims). Kashmir Valley arrivals were about 30 to 35 lakh in 2024, depending on the source, so valley hotels depend on leisure tourists.
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from the J&K Economic Survey 2025-26, J&K Budget 2026-27, PRS Legislative Research, NITI Aayog and replies in Parliament and the Legislative Assembly. Figures are advance estimates or latest available and official replies sometimes differ, so check the latest Economic Survey and Budget before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.