26-04-2025
‘Whole System Is Down, Like Going Back To 1990s': How Pahalgam Attack Is Bleeding Kashmir Tourism
The April 22 terror attack has triggered widespread cancellations by tourists, hotel bookings are down, and many tour operators are reporting a sharp fall in enquiries
The horrific Pahalgam terror attack this week, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists, has also predictably come as a huge setback for Kashmir's tourism industry.
'We have let go of close to 500 people from our seven hotels. Others have too," Naseem Chaya, managing director of Mushtaq Group of Hotels, which has a collaboration with the Radisson Group for the Radisson Collection hotel in Srinagar, told CNN-News18.
Tourism is the backbone of the Kashmir valley's economy and has been actively promoted by the government and Indian carriers.
Arrivals hit a record high of more than 3 million last year, from fewer than 831,000 in 2018, with post-Covid travel trends on an upswing, government data showed.
However, the April 22 terror attack has triggered widespread cancellations by tourists, hotel bookings are down, and many tour operators are reporting a sharp fall in enquiries.
'In two days, we have had cancellations of Rs 12 crore, for bookings up till May 20," Chaya told CNN-News18.
He also expressed concerns about a number of young people losing employment, hinting that a return of stone-pelting incidents cannot be ruled out.
'The whole system in Kashmir is down. It's like going back to the 1990s, when militancy began, unemployment reached its peak, and everything came crashing down," said Chaya.
First Published:
April 26, 2025, 22:12 IST
