Highest ever over 3 Cr tourists visit J&K in 2024: Centre

Jammu, Jul 21: Setting a new record, over 3 Crore tourists – the highest ever – visited Jammu and Kashmir in the year 2024, and this number also included 65452 foreign tourist visits.

The Union Territory saw 2,35,24,629 domestic tourists visiting during the year 2024, thus registering an annual growth of 13.76 percent in domestic tourist traffic, while foreign tourist traffic witnessed 18.28 percent annual growth during this period.

This was revealed by the Union Tourism Minister Ganjendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply to a question of BJP MP Tejasvi Surya in the Lok Sabha on Monday (July 21, 2025).

During the past five years, J&K saw the footfall of over 7 crores domestic tourists and over 1 lakh foreign tourists. In the year 2020, a total of 23,19,524 domestic tourists and 5317 foreign tourists enjoyed the natural splendour of J&K.

This number spiralled up to 1,13,14,290 domestic tourists registering an annual growth of 349.09 percent – highest ever- and 1650 foreign tourists in the year 2021. In case of foreign tourists, the year marked a negative annual growth of 68.97 percent, seemingly COVID effect.

Interestingly, 2022 saw record-breaking annual growth of 1111.21 percent in foreign tourist traffic with a footfall of 19,985 while in case of domestic front, 1,84,99,332 tourists visited, registering 63.50 per cent annual growth.

In the year 2023, J&K recorded 2,06,79,336 domestic tourist visits and 55,337 foreign tourists with an annual growth of 11.78 percent and 176.89 percent, respectively.

Union Tourism Minister also informed that the Ministry of Tourism, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, sanctioned a total of six projects in the year 2016-17 for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, with a total sanctioned cost of Rs 519.58 Cr.

All these projects have since been physically completed.

These projects sanctioned under Swadesh Darshan scheme in UT of Jammu and Kashmir included development of Jammu-Srinagar-Pahalgam-Bhagwati Nagar-Anantnag-Salamabad-Uri-Kargil-Leh for Rs 77.33 Cr; development of tourist facilities at Jammu-Rajouri-Shopian-Pulwama for Rs 81.60 Cr; development of tourist facilities – construction of assets instead of those destroyed in 2014 floods under PM development package for Rs 90.43 Cr; development of tourist facilities at Mantalai and Sudh Mahadev for Rs 91.99 Cr; development of tourist facilities at Anantnag-Pulwama-Kishtwar-Pahalgam-Zanskar Padum-Daksum-Ranjit Sagar dam for Rs 86.39 Cr and development of tourist facilities at Gulmarg-Baramulla-Kupwara-Kargil-Leh for Rs 91.84 Cr.

All these projects are part of the ambitious Himalayan circuit.

Shekhawat, however, stated, “The Ministry has not undertaken any formal study to date to assess the extent of direct and indirect employment generated in the region under the Scheme during the last five years.”

Notably, the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22 and developments that unfolded in its aftermath upset this upswing in the tourist influx to J&K in the second quarter of 2025.