Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat  said, the Kashmir region has witnessed more than 15 percent increase in the number of footfalls since the end of the pandemic. He was speaking at the  25th Annual National Convention of Tourist Guides Federation of India organized at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar yesterday.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shekhawat said that India has witnessed a boom in domestic tourism post Covid-19 pandemic and the tourism industry as a whole needs to prepare itself for the growing volume of tourists across the country.

Mr Shekhawat said that popular tourist destinations are witnessing a huge rush of visitors and it is therefore necessary to divert both domestic and foreign tourists towards virgin and offbeat destinations. He made a mention of lavender cultivation in south Kashmir and said that more than 2.5 million people have visited the Valley in the recent past just to catch a glimpse of this.

Later, the Minister presided over a review meeting of the Department of Tourism in Kashmir. He  was also briefed about various ongoing and completed tourism related projects undertaken by the Department of Tourism. Mr Shekhawat also released the first edition of Department of Tourism J&K’s newsletter J&K Vista on the occasion.