Srinagar: Amid targeted killings, the Kashmir Valley has witnessed a record number of tourist footfalls in June. At present, there is no space in hotels, houseboats and other guest houses. From January to May this year, about 7,00,000 tourists have visited various tourist places here, which is a lot more than in the same period last year.
Surprisingly, the tourists' arrival did not dwindle despite targeted killings in the Valley for the past few weeks. Hundreds of minority families are terrified after the deaths of two migrant workers in the last three weeks in the Kashmir Valley. Due to the increasing incidence of "target killings", migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees wanted to return to Jammu. Notably, from May 9 to June 2, "eight civilians, including five members of a minority community", lost their lives in a targeted killing.
Read: Kashmir witness surge in tourists after long time
According to figures, 61,000 tourists visited various places in January, while in February, the number reached 1,00,000. Similarly, 1,80,000 tourists visited Kashmir Valley in March and 2,00,000 in April. According to statistics, 61,000 tourists visited various places in January, while in February, the number reached 1,00,000. Similarly, 1,80,000 tourists visited Kashmir Valley in March. In all, 2,60,000 tourists visited Kashmir Valley from April to June this year, there is a significant number of tourists from other states of the country۔
In 2021, though millions of tourists flocked to Kashmir, but this year all the records of previous years are likely to be broken. For the first time in history, about 100 flights are being operated daily from Srinagar Airport and at least 5,000 tourists are arriving here while the number is increasing. Over 95% of advance booking has been done in hotels by June. Meanwhile, the data released by the Srinagar airport officials in a tweet stated that around 16,000 to 18,000 passengers either arrive in Srinagar or leave the city daily.
