The Jammu and Kashmir (an Indian state) government is keeping its fingers crossed as tourist figures rise in the Valley this spring, particularly the number of foreign visitors.
While the Tourism Department is relucant to release figures, wary of making any connection between peace in the disputed Valley and the tourism upsurge, according to local operators, the figure has already crossed 100,000.
“If all goes well, we are expecting the tourist number to go up by more than 20 percent and anticipating more than one million tourists this season,” says Rauf Trumboo, president of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir.
Kashmir’s tourist season usually starts from April 15. But the premature heat in the plains and Asia’s largest recreational tulip garden in Srinagar are attracting a large number of tourists to Kashmir.
According to G.S. Naqah, Director, Floriculture, “So far 70,000 tourists have visited the tulip garden this year. Though the tulip season is over, we have turned it into an all-weather garden and it will remain open throughout the year.” Source
