Heavenly Expansion: J&K Unveils 75 New Religious Tourist Destinations

To boost religious tourism in Jammu and Kashmir after record-breaking year, the administration has identified 75 new tourist destinations.

In 2022, the region welcomed 1 crore tourists, marking a significant increase. Speaking at the ‘Jashn-e-Adab—Cultural Karavaan’ event the Tourism Secretary Syed Abid Rashid Shah, expressed optimism about the rise in state tourism. He credits the tourism growth to various factors that included the impactful G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar.

Shah said that historic growth in tourist numbers was also due to the promotion of lesser known destinations. He shared that the 75 offbeat locations promotions by the government were a huge success. Additionally, the government has earmarked 75 destinations for spiritual experiences and another 75 for religious tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Shah further outlined the ongoing initiatives to showcase the beauty of the region and its cultural richness. The active participation in the International Trade Marts will engage the international tourists and the upcoming pro-artisan policy is set to benefit the local artisan community.

To showcase the government’s commitment to promoting tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said that the Tourism Department team is currently in Ahmedabad for a promotional tour to generate significant interest. He stressed the success of similar campaigns that were conducted in Cochin and Chennai.

With these different initiatives to strengthen the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir, the prospect of achieving record-breaking tourist numbers for the coming years looks highly achievable. The outlook for the region’s tourism industry including local and international tourists remains optimistic.