On Tuesday evening, when the attack on tourists in Baisaran claimed 28 lives; the travel agents in Jammu & Kashmir knew that they would bear the brunt of the terror attack. And as they expected, travel bookings to the state have dropped by 90 percent and all the bookings till June-July stand cancelled in the aftermath of the attack.
While they understand there will be loss of business, they unanimously agree that they “are worried about the lives of our brothers and sisters.”
“Forget business — what about those who lost their lives – a travel agent from Singapore, whose guest was injured in the attack.
WE’RE IN SHOCK, THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO OUR TOURISTS:
One of the travel agency’s guest was injured during the attack. As soon as he heard about it, he went to check on his guest at the hospital. “I was in the office when I got a call that one of my guests, who had gone to Baisaran, was shot. I was in shock — this has never happened with our tourists. I rushed to the hospital, stayed with them during the surgery. I just couldn’t believe it. I cried for them — because we all are the same.
“This is unacceptable, and this will impact tourism in a big way. Tourism and terrorism cannot go hand-in-hand. We were witnessing a boom, and now this will change everything. I had 35 cancellations in just two days.
But forget tourism, forget business — what about those who have lost their lives? They will never come back. People had come with their families, some were celebrating anniversaries — and this is what happened to them.”
BUSINESS WILL DROP BY 90%, IT’LL TAKE AT LEAST ONE OR TWO YEARS TO RECOVER:
Travel agents who were hopeful for a strong summer season are now facing multiple cancellations. “Business will drop by 90%, and it will take at least a year or two years to recover. The last five years were a golden period for tourism in Kashmir, with travel increasing exponentially. But after this attack, the business will be hit, and it will take at least two years for us to recover.
The flight cancellations have jumped seven times more than usual. “We’re heartbroken by what happened in Pahalgam.
In times of uncertainty like this, we’re here for our customers, we’re here for our customers, whether it’s rescheduling plans, offering waivers, or simply helping them navigate what’s next. Our teams are available and ready to support in every possible way. As per our early observations, drop in future bookings by approximately 40 percent.”
ALL BOOKINGS ARE CANCELLED UNTIL JUNE:
It’s not just travel agents in Delhi with offices in Kashmir, but Kashmir-based travel agents also call this a black day for both Kashmir and the tourism industry. “All my bookings are cancelled until June. Tourists and locals are in shock. This will 100 percent impact tourism Business was returning, tourism was at its peak, hotel rooms were fully booked. But after this attack, everything is cancelled, and it’s heart-breaking.”
Another tour operator from Srinagar adds, “Bookings till July have been cancelled. April, May, June, and the Yatra period starting in July, are critical months for us. When we get bookings, they’re mostly for Srinagar, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Gulmarg — you can’t convince people that one part is safe while the other is not. This was our time to earn. It took years to bring tourists back to Kashmir. Earlier, we could recover from setbacks because tourists were never the direct target.
But this is a black day for us. Recovery will take much longer now. Tourists are scared. This will affect our business more than previous incidents ever did.”
NOTE:
2.36 crores of tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir in 2024. The Jammu and Kashmir Economic Survery 2024-25 noted a historic high of 2.36 crore visitors in 2024. This figure includes 65,452 foreign tourists, 5.12 lakh pilgrims who undertook the Amarnath Yatra, and 94.56 lakh devotees visiting the Vaishno Devi temple.
