There are very few tourists visiting the beautiful Himalayan region of Kashmir. Most hotels and the fancy pine wood houseboats are empty. Resorts in the snowy mountains are quiet. Hundreds of taxis are parked and not in use. This is because of a recent tragic attack last month, where 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. After this, India and Pakistan, two countries that both claim Kashmir, exchanged military strikes, bringing them close to war for the third time over the region.
Yaseen Tuman, who runs several houseboats in Srinagar, the main city of Kashmir, said, “There might be a few tourists, but it is almost zero right now. It is very quiet.” After the attack on April 22 at a beautiful meadow in Pahalgam, many scared tourists left Kashmir quickly. Authorities also closed many tourist resorts for a while, which made people even more afraid and hotel bookings dropped sharply.
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Videos and pictures of the attack were shown many times on TV and social media, increasing fear and anger. India blamed Pakistan for supporting the attackers, but Pakistan denied this. Those tourists who stayed initially soon left as the tension between India and Pakistan grew. Both countries fired missiles and drones at each other, which caused many tourist bookings to be canceled.
Though a ceasefire was agreed on May 10 with help from the U.S., new bookings are still very low, according to tour operators. Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, vice president of the Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association, said that before the attack, about 12,000 rooms were booked until June, but almost all bookings have been canceled. Many people working in hotels have lost their jobs. He said, “It’s a huge loss.”
The drop in tourism is also hurting the local economy. People who sell handicrafts, food, and taxi rides have lost most of their customers. Popular places like Gulmarg and Pahalgam, which used to attract many tourists, are now quiet. The colorful hand-carved boats called shikaras on Dal Lake in Srinagar are not moving and are mostly tied up. Many daily wage workers have no work now.
Boatman Fayaz Ahmed said, “There used to be long lines of tourists waiting for boat rides. Now, there are none.” Taxi driver Mohammed Irfan said, “Earlier, we used to work so much that even a half-day off was a luxury. Now, my taxi has not moved for almost two weeks.”
In recent years, tourism grew a lot and made up about 7% of Kashmir’s economy. Omar Abdullah, Kashmir’s top elected leader, had said before the attack that the government wanted tourism to grow to 15% of the economy in four to five years. Kashmir was a popular tourist place until a rebellion against Indian rule started in 1989. The conflict damaged the region badly, which is partly controlled by Pakistan but claimed by both India and Pakistan.
Over time, tourism started to grow again, but small fights between India and Pakistan kept tourists away. The Indian government pushed to increase tourism after removing Kashmir’s special autonomy in 2019. Even with tight security, millions of visitors came, and many locals started businesses like guesthouses, hotels, and transport services because there were few other jobs.
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The government said that the increase in tourists meant things were returning to normal. But the recent massacre proved otherwise. Experts say that the government’s hope was too optimistic, and the growing tourism was fragile. Abdullah warned last year that the situation might not be stable.
Yaseen Tuman, who has been in the tourism business for six generations, said he is not hopeful about tourism coming back soon because most summer bookings are canceled. “If everything goes well, it will take at least six months to revive tourism,” he said. Sheikh Bashir Ahmed said peace is needed for tourism to grow. “If India and Pakistan do not solve the Kashmir problem, this situation might repeat again after a few months.”
