The government on Tuesday informed the Legislative Assembly that 4. 48 crore tourists, including 1.20 lakh foreigners, visited J&K during the past two years.
In a written reply to a question MLA Eidgah, Mubarak Gul, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the tourism portfolio, informed the House that 2. 12 crore tourists visited J&K in 2023 and 2.36 crore in 2024.
Of them, 55337 foreign tourists visited J&K in 2023 and 65452 in 2024, the minister said.
He said that 2.11 crore domestic tourists visited J&K in 2023 and 2.35 crore in 2024.
He said the government has spent Rs 35.08 crore for promotion, advertisement and allied activities by the Department of Tourism during the past two financial years.
Of which Rs 14. 14 crore were spent in 2023-34 and Rs 20.94 crore in 2024-25, he said.
The CM said the tourism sector holds extensive employment potential for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He acknowledged that while the sector employs a significant workforce in Jammu and Kashmir, no formal survey has been conducted to ascertain the exact number.
The chief minister also told the House that 59 assets of the Tourism Department have been outsourced in the past two years.