Sunday, 15 September 2013

Tourism in J&K

Tourism in the State

The tourism industry in the state plays vital role in the development of the regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.  The state has been a place of religious activities and shrines  having  their own religious values, which attract thousands of  pilgrims  every year. With the arrival of winter, the state  offers a multitude of options for winter sports activities.
 
According  to  Centre  for  Monitoring  Indian  Economy  (CMIE),  the  tertiary  sector  in  the  state
contributes nearly  44.2 per cent to the states GSDP (at current prices,  2007-08). Amongst the various sectors coming under tertiary sector, Tourism is a key contributor to the sector growth of 8.7 per cent

Key observations based on statistics  are as follows:
  The total tourist visits in India during 2010 was 7580.7 lakhs out of which nearly 1.32 percent
tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir.
  Amongst these 1.32 percent tourists, 99 percent were domestic tourists.
  Domestic  tourist inflow is high during the period of June-July  and October to March  (20  Years
Perspective Plan, 2003).

 State Level Agencies Associated with Tourism
Ministry of Tourism  is the nodal agency for the formulation of national policies &  programmes and
for the co-ordination of activities of various Central Government Agencies, State Governments/UTs
and the Private Sector for the development and promotion of tourism in the country.  In the second
order  of  hierarchy  lies  the  Department  of  Tourism,  Jammu  and  Kashmir  (DoT-J&K).  The  core responsibility of the department includes planning and execution of schemes for the development, upgradation  and  improvement  of  the  tourism  infrastructure  in  the  state.  Support  to  the  private  sector industry  in  the  form  of  incentives,  promotion  and  marketing  of  various  tourist  destinations  and products  and regulation of travel-trade under the respective provisions are the some of its important functions.  For  administrative  purpose,  the  department  has  further  divided  the  state  into  regions  of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Apart from this, the State Government has also established 19 Tourism Development Authorities at places with good tourism potential (IBEF, November 2010).

Available Destinations/Circuits
The state  is full of  valleys, trekking trail,  snowy  mountains,  meadows, lakes, garden and orchards,
monuments  and  temples,  forts,  monasteries  and  palaces.  While  Ladakh  is  the  choice  of  foreign tourists,  Jammu  and  the  valley  attracts  a  larger  number  of  domestic  tourists.  According  to  official website  of  Department  of  Tourism,  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  following  are  the  list  of  major  tourist destinations coming under these three regions:

1)  Jammu  Region:  Jammu,  Akhnoor,  Jhajjar  Kotli,  Aghar  Jitto,  Patnitop,  Sanasar,  Bhaderwah,
Kishtwar, Baba-Dhansar, Reasi, Sihard Baba, Udhampur, Kud.

2)  Kashmir  Region:  Srinagar,  Gulmarg,  Pahalgam,  Sonamarg,  Daksum,  Kokernag,  Yusmarg,
Aharbal, Watlab, Verinag, Lolab Valley.

3)  Ladakh Region: Kargil, Zanaskar, Leh, Nubra, Lamayuru, Spituk

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