Article 370 has ushered hope on the investment front. The region is slated to receive thousands of crores of investment across various sectors. But does the region’s tourism tell the same story? Unfortunately, not. Let’s look at the impact of Article 370 on tourism in Kashmir, as reported until January, 2020 by various sources.
Backdrop – Abrogation of Article 370
Article 370 that gave Kashmir a special status was canceled by the Indian Government on August 5, 2019. The removal of the articles met with mixed response. While many, especially the political parties of Kashmir and the opposition criticized it, several across the nation viewed it as a positive move that would help place Kashmir in mainstream development.
So far projections have been significantly true, as Kashmir is about to receive over 30 thousand crores of investment in the near future. But the removal of these articles has negatively impacted Kashmir’s tourist arrivals. At least, until 2020, it seemed that the decision didn’t do any good to the region’s tourism sector.
Let’s see how badly it impacted tourism in 2019 and to some extent, 2020.
Steep Decline in Tourist Arrivals
As informed by Union Tourism Prahlad Patel in Rajya Sabha, Kashmir has received a more significant setback than Jammu. As per data provided by the government, 84,326 tourists visited Kashmir since August, 2019 while 87,94,837 visited Jammu and 1,00,931 tourists visited Ladakh. The number of pilgrims or tourists who visited Jammu since August, 2019 was 76,80,775.
In July 2019, Kashmir received 152,525 tourists. However, the number plummeted to 10,130 arrivals in August 2019 when the article event happened. The number further dropped to 4,562 tourists in September 2019. Thanks to the Gulmarg winter games. The numbers exhibited minimal progress in November 2019 with 12,086 visitors. But in December, with only 6,954 tourist arrivals, tourism remained as cold as the season.
Employment Losses
Let’s talk about employment losses. Over 144,500 jobs were reported to have been affected in the region’s tourism and handicrafts sector after the center’s decision to cancel Kashmir’s special status. Commercial losses reported were valued at approximately INT 15,000 crore, per estimates from the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
The Vice President of KCCI, Abdul Majeed, spoke about the plight of the tourism sector and informed that weavers and artisans were rendered jobless on account of the center’s initiative. Blocked internet services were reported to be another challenge to trade.
Tourist Arrivals in November 2021
While the above are pretty old statistics and represent the immediate aftermath of the abrogation of the articles, let’s see what happened recently. The recent picture is pretty encouraging, despite October skirmishes and casualties, Kashmir received about 1.27 lakh tourists in November 2021. The number is way higher than that in November 2020 (6,327) and November 2019, as mentioned earlier, 12,086. The growth undoubtedly brought some relief to Kashmir’s sinking tourism sector.
Conclusion
Every significant event, no matter how positive, may initially have some negative impact on a particular region or environment. Of course, while there’s an empathetic feeling toward the losses people suffered during the turmoil, what’s also true is the fact that some things take time to get back to normal.
And, it isn’t that the government did not help the affected. It released a stimulus package of 5.67 crore as relief in the wake of the pandemic for its disbursement among tourism stakeholders. The relief amount disbursed among stakeholders is to the extent of INR 1,000 per beneficiary per month for three months.
Moreover, people must look at the bigger picture. For a region, which has always breathed in the environment of terror and threat, Article 370 has proved a boon, as terror numbers have significantly dropped since the abrogation.
With the situation gradually improving, the future may hold abundant promise for Kashmir and its tourism sector. A more secure situation in Kashmir can translate to a higher number of tourists visiting the region. However, people will have to wait and be patient to see positive changes happening across the valley.
