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The problem lies not in tourism itself, but in the way it has been imagined and structured. For years, policy has equated tourism development with big hotels, high-end resorts and capital-intensive projects concentrated in a few locations. These projects look impressive, generate revenue and enhance optics at the same time they create limited local employment and even fewer opportunities for first-generation entrepreneurs.
Baring the unfortunate sporadic incidents every summer and every winter, Jammu and Kashmir witnesses a familiar spectacle. Roads clog with tourist vehicles, hotels hang up their “no vacancy” signs, and official statements celebrate record-breaking visitor numbers. On paper, tourism appears to be thriving. Yet beyond the crowded promenades and luxury resorts lies a quieter, more troubling reality is that thousands of young people, educated and eager to work, remain unemployed or underemployed, watching prosperity pass them by. This contradiction is not new, but it has become harder to ignore. More than 3.7 lakh youth in Jammu and Kashmir are officially registered as unemployed. Many more are not counted, many who have stopped registering, those working sporadically, those surviving on family support while waiting for something stable. The uncomfortable truth is that tourism, despite being projected as the backbone of J&K’s economy, has not translated into meaningful, widespread employment. Growth has occurred, but inclusion has not. Since, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has immense potential in tourism, with its natural beauty, cultural heritage, and adventure spots. To diversify beyond high-end hotels and promote "lower rung" infrastructure like homestays, guest houses, and paying guest accommodations, the focus should be on inclusive policies that empower unemployed youth. This can create grassroots jobs, reduce unemployment (which affects over 3.7 lakh youth in J&K), and spread tourism benefits to rural and semi-urban areas like Srinagar's outskirts or remote valleys and even the inner core as heritage tourism.
Intrinsic Reality
The problem lies not in tourism itself, but in the way it has been imagined and structured. For years, policy has equated tourism development with big hotels, high-end resorts and capital-intensive projects concentrated in a few locations. These projects look impressive, generate revenue and enhance optics at the same time they create limited local employment and even fewer opportunities for first-generation entrepreneurs. They demand land, capital, connections and compliance capacity that the average Kashmiri youth simply does not possess or does not afford as an entrepreneur and are longing for the opportunities which evade and frustrate them, forcing them to go awry.
Meanwhile, the real strength of Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism lies in its homes, villages, food, culture, stories and landscapes, as its inherited endowments. It lies in the warmth of households that have hosted guests informally for decades, in families that already live beside lakes, orchards, forests, gushing streams and trails tourists come to experience. Yet this vast reservoir of potential remains untapped, not because people are unwilling, but because the system is not designed for them.
For a young person in Srinagar’s outskirts, in Budgam, Kupwara or a remote valley, the idea of starting a homestay or small guest house should be a natural pathway to self-employment. Instead, it often becomes an exercise in frustration ,leaving him distraught and flustered. Regulations are complex and cumbersome, approvals are scattered and speckled across departments, and compliance costs are dauntingly disproportionate to the scale of the activity, guest houses and paying guests eluding the curious and courageous venture of the young. Land and construction norms mirror those meant for commercial hotels, ignoring the reality that most homestays or guest houses are simply extensions of existing family homes.
Missing Inclusivity
High land prices further compound the problem. In many tourist belts or that matter in Srinagar which faces the growing brunt of increasing unemployment, even a kanal of land is beyond the reach of ordinary youth. Expecting them to acquire two kanals and invest colossal finances for construction before they can even begin is neither encouragement nor the inspiration but a sheer and quiet exclusion. As a result, many either abandon the idea or operate informally, without protection, credit access or long-term security.
If tourism is to become a genuine solution to unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir, this mindset must change. The future of tourism does not lie only in grand projects; it lies in enabling thousands of small ones. Homestays, guest houses, paying guest accommodations, small eateries, guiding services and cultural experiences form what might be called the “missing middle” of the tourism economy. This is where jobs are created quickly, locally and sustainably. Across the world, community-based tourism has shown that when local people are owners rather than spectators, tourism becomes more resilient and equitable. In J&K, this approach is not an imported idea, it is deeply rooted in tradition and the kashmiriyat which based on hospitality as its cornerstone. Hospitality here has always been personal, home-based and relational which evidence that homestays, hosting guests or PG’s have emerged and groomed in Kashmir. Policy needs to catch up with practice, tradition and growing requirements of the community to make tourism inclusive pursuit rather a venture for the chosen. Easing guidelines is the first step. This does not mean compromising on safety or quality; it means recognizing scale and context. A homestay with two rooms or a guest house with 5-10 rooms cannot be regulated like a 50-room hotel. Single-window digital registration, provisional approvals, reduced fees for unemployed youth and simplified documentation can dramatically widen participation. Use of existing properties, ancestral house, properties taken on lease for the purpose by the young with documentary proofs need consideration for use as star-up venture to come out of the vexing unemployment jinx and allow them to tread the path of inclusivity and prosperity. When rules are reasonable, people are more willing to comply, and regulation becomes effective rather than punitive.
Equally important is the question of cost. For most unemployed youth, even modest renovation expenses are a major hurdle. Furniture, sanitation upgrades, heating, basic safety measures require upfront investment which generally is beyond the affordability of common youth. Existing schemes such as Mission Youth and YUVA have shown promise by offering seed capital and subsidies, but their reach must expand, and their processes must remain simple and transparent. Small grants, subsidies, incentives, low-interest loans and credit guarantees can make the difference between an idea remaining a dream and becoming a livelihood. In the process sort out perplexing problems in which modern Kashmiri youth is entrenched and entangled at present. What is often overlooked is how powerful these small enterprises are in generating secondary employment. A homestay or guest house does not function in isolation. It creates work for masons and carpenters, demand for farm produce and dairy, opportunities for drivers, guides, artisans and performers. Money circulates within the community instead of leaking out. In this way, tourism becomes an ecosystem, not an enclave.
There is also a strong spatial argument for inclusive tourism. Overcrowding in popular destinations has already begun to strain infrastructure and ecosystems. By encouraging homestays/ guest houses in lesser-known areas/villages near Srinagar, border regions, heritage towns and scenic valleys which would enable to disperse tourism pressure for equitable development benefits. This will not only protect fragile destinations but also brings economic activity to areas that have long felt left-out of development narratives. For many rural families, especially those facing declining agricultural incomes, tourism-linked livelihoods offer diversification and stability. For women, homestays create opportunities that are socially acceptable, home-based and income-generating. For youth, they can offer dignity, the self-worth of earning independently without waiting endlessly for government recruitment notifications.
Easing of Procedures for Participation of Youth
Government need to make it easier for unemployed youth, ages 18 to 35, to get involved in community-based tourism. Previous experience shall not become impediment in the inclusion, however, basic training needs to be imparted and shall be enough. This is bound to open the door for more local youth local to run homestays and guest houses, which can cut down on unemployment and stop so many from leaving their hometowns by using youthful energies as a viable human resource. Right now, strict rules make it tough to get started. The J&K Homestay/Guest House Policy, last checked in November 2025, needs revision. The land cap requirement needs to relaxed to 1 kanal for guest houses and need to be eased further in favour of homestays. Government rebates for green building materials, and make it easier to use existing houses or ancestral properties. Most young people just don’t have the cash/capital to buy land or build from scratch. Land alone can cost ₹50-150 lakh per kanal in tourist spots, and putting up a basic structure is another ₹50-125 lakh. That’s out of reach for most. If we bring in real incentives, more young people will see tourism as a way to work for themselves. Mission Youth is already helping and right now, the J&K government supports 500 youth-run homestays with ₹50,000 each for setup. Now it has been increased ₹1.5 lakh, or 15% of the project cost, whichever is less. All one need is to be an unemployed, live locally, and have a simple business plan. That money helps cover things like furniture, marketing, or a few repairs to minimize the pressure capital up front. Government also need to facilitate these to team up with companies like OYO for interest-free or low-interest loans, ₹2-5 lakh to get your homestays going and 5-10 lakhs for guest houses for the unemployed only. National programs, like the Ministry of Tourism’s accommodation approvals, offer tax breaks for rural homestays run by unemployed youth and extend its scope to cover heritage areas of core cities, urban unemployed and urban poor. And to really get things moving, work with influencers to show off offbeat destinations. Let’s move beyond the usual crowded spots like Gulmarg and help travelers discover those hidden gems in border villages.
Needed Safeguards
The inclusion is imperative and must go hand in hand with sustainability. Jammu and Kashmir’s environment is fragile, and unplanned tourism can be as damaging as no tourism at all. Community-based models, when supported with clear carrying-capacity norms, waste management systems and incentives for energy-efficient construction, are better suited to long-term ecological balance than mass tourism driven purely by numbers. Therefore, safety and sustainability measure have to be upheld to ensure it does not inflict damages to the eco-sensitive nature of Kashmir.
Consultation Budget-2026
The forthcoming Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Budget for 2026–27 is an opportunity to embed this thinking into governance. Tourism-related employment should not be treated as a standalone department issue but as a cross-cutting development strategy. Budget allocations must prioritize outcomes and find a way forward for how many youth-led enterprises are created, how many local jobs sustained rather than just infrastructure spending. Investment in basic amenities, digital connectivity and skill training must align with tourism expansion plans through inclusivity.
Monitoring will be crucial. Without transparency, benefits risk being cornered by those who already have access and influence. Social audits, local tourism committees and digital tracking can ensure that first-generation entrepreneurs, especially from urban unemployed, rural and peri-urban areas, are not crowded out. Risk mitigation through insurance and disaster preparedness also need to be infused and must also be built into the system, as small operators are the most vulnerable to shocks. All this needs to covered and provided in the coming budget to mitigate the problems of unemployment, at the same time ensure economic growth and a check on growing drug menace involving the youth of J&K.
Need for Immediate Policy Decisions
At a deeper level, this conversation is about reimagining development in Jammu and Kashmir. For too long, economic security has been associated almost exclusively with government jobs. While public employment remains important, it cannot absorb the growing youth population. A healthy economy requires a strong, confident private and self-employment sector. Tourism, if democratized, can help normalize entrepreneurship as a respectable and attainable path. The success of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir should not be measured only by arrival figures or hotel revenues. It should be measured by how many young people are able to stay back in their hometowns, earn a living with dignity and contribute to their communities. It should be measured by how many households move from uncertainty to stability, from dependence to confidence. Tourism rooted in homes rather than hotels offers such a possibility. It is quieter, slower and less spectacular but radically far more transformative. An immediate policy decision is needed for easing regulations, lowering financial barriers and trusting ordinary citizens as partners in development, Jammu and Kashmir can turn its most celebrated sector into its most inclusive one. In turn it can pave way for tremendous long term cumulative causative socio-economic benefits and trickle down its impact to the common man.
Prioritizing Inclusivity
In the end, the real question is simple is to realize the truth that can a place truly prosper if its youth remain on the margins of its attainment and success? If the answer is no, then the path forward is equally clear and needs to be given priority. Tourism must stop being something that happens around people and start being something that happens through them especially the unemployed and enterprising young of the community. Thus,Jammu & Kashmir must put its “Youth” back at the center of its tourism story instead of quite marginalization and sheer exclusion.
Email:-----------------------------hamwani24@gmail.com
The problem lies not in tourism itself, but in the way it has been imagined and structured. For years, policy has equated tourism development with big hotels, high-end resorts and capital-intensive projects concentrated in a few locations. These projects look impressive, generate revenue and enhance optics at the same time they create limited local employment and even fewer opportunities for first-generation entrepreneurs.
Baring the unfortunate sporadic incidents every summer and every winter, Jammu and Kashmir witnesses a familiar spectacle. Roads clog with tourist vehicles, hotels hang up their “no vacancy” signs, and official statements celebrate record-breaking visitor numbers. On paper, tourism appears to be thriving. Yet beyond the crowded promenades and luxury resorts lies a quieter, more troubling reality is that thousands of young people, educated and eager to work, remain unemployed or underemployed, watching prosperity pass them by. This contradiction is not new, but it has become harder to ignore. More than 3.7 lakh youth in Jammu and Kashmir are officially registered as unemployed. Many more are not counted, many who have stopped registering, those working sporadically, those surviving on family support while waiting for something stable. The uncomfortable truth is that tourism, despite being projected as the backbone of J&K’s economy, has not translated into meaningful, widespread employment. Growth has occurred, but inclusion has not. Since, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has immense potential in tourism, with its natural beauty, cultural heritage, and adventure spots. To diversify beyond high-end hotels and promote "lower rung" infrastructure like homestays, guest houses, and paying guest accommodations, the focus should be on inclusive policies that empower unemployed youth. This can create grassroots jobs, reduce unemployment (which affects over 3.7 lakh youth in J&K), and spread tourism benefits to rural and semi-urban areas like Srinagar's outskirts or remote valleys and even the inner core as heritage tourism.
Intrinsic Reality
The problem lies not in tourism itself, but in the way it has been imagined and structured. For years, policy has equated tourism development with big hotels, high-end resorts and capital-intensive projects concentrated in a few locations. These projects look impressive, generate revenue and enhance optics at the same time they create limited local employment and even fewer opportunities for first-generation entrepreneurs. They demand land, capital, connections and compliance capacity that the average Kashmiri youth simply does not possess or does not afford as an entrepreneur and are longing for the opportunities which evade and frustrate them, forcing them to go awry.
Meanwhile, the real strength of Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism lies in its homes, villages, food, culture, stories and landscapes, as its inherited endowments. It lies in the warmth of households that have hosted guests informally for decades, in families that already live beside lakes, orchards, forests, gushing streams and trails tourists come to experience. Yet this vast reservoir of potential remains untapped, not because people are unwilling, but because the system is not designed for them.
For a young person in Srinagar’s outskirts, in Budgam, Kupwara or a remote valley, the idea of starting a homestay or small guest house should be a natural pathway to self-employment. Instead, it often becomes an exercise in frustration ,leaving him distraught and flustered. Regulations are complex and cumbersome, approvals are scattered and speckled across departments, and compliance costs are dauntingly disproportionate to the scale of the activity, guest houses and paying guests eluding the curious and courageous venture of the young. Land and construction norms mirror those meant for commercial hotels, ignoring the reality that most homestays or guest houses are simply extensions of existing family homes.
Missing Inclusivity
High land prices further compound the problem. In many tourist belts or that matter in Srinagar which faces the growing brunt of increasing unemployment, even a kanal of land is beyond the reach of ordinary youth. Expecting them to acquire two kanals and invest colossal finances for construction before they can even begin is neither encouragement nor the inspiration but a sheer and quiet exclusion. As a result, many either abandon the idea or operate informally, without protection, credit access or long-term security.
If tourism is to become a genuine solution to unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir, this mindset must change. The future of tourism does not lie only in grand projects; it lies in enabling thousands of small ones. Homestays, guest houses, paying guest accommodations, small eateries, guiding services and cultural experiences form what might be called the “missing middle” of the tourism economy. This is where jobs are created quickly, locally and sustainably. Across the world, community-based tourism has shown that when local people are owners rather than spectators, tourism becomes more resilient and equitable. In J&K, this approach is not an imported idea, it is deeply rooted in tradition and the kashmiriyat which based on hospitality as its cornerstone. Hospitality here has always been personal, home-based and relational which evidence that homestays, hosting guests or PG’s have emerged and groomed in Kashmir. Policy needs to catch up with practice, tradition and growing requirements of the community to make tourism inclusive pursuit rather a venture for the chosen. Easing guidelines is the first step. This does not mean compromising on safety or quality; it means recognizing scale and context. A homestay with two rooms or a guest house with 5-10 rooms cannot be regulated like a 50-room hotel. Single-window digital registration, provisional approvals, reduced fees for unemployed youth and simplified documentation can dramatically widen participation. Use of existing properties, ancestral house, properties taken on lease for the purpose by the young with documentary proofs need consideration for use as star-up venture to come out of the vexing unemployment jinx and allow them to tread the path of inclusivity and prosperity. When rules are reasonable, people are more willing to comply, and regulation becomes effective rather than punitive.
Equally important is the question of cost. For most unemployed youth, even modest renovation expenses are a major hurdle. Furniture, sanitation upgrades, heating, basic safety measures require upfront investment which generally is beyond the affordability of common youth. Existing schemes such as Mission Youth and YUVA have shown promise by offering seed capital and subsidies, but their reach must expand, and their processes must remain simple and transparent. Small grants, subsidies, incentives, low-interest loans and credit guarantees can make the difference between an idea remaining a dream and becoming a livelihood. In the process sort out perplexing problems in which modern Kashmiri youth is entrenched and entangled at present. What is often overlooked is how powerful these small enterprises are in generating secondary employment. A homestay or guest house does not function in isolation. It creates work for masons and carpenters, demand for farm produce and dairy, opportunities for drivers, guides, artisans and performers. Money circulates within the community instead of leaking out. In this way, tourism becomes an ecosystem, not an enclave.
There is also a strong spatial argument for inclusive tourism. Overcrowding in popular destinations has already begun to strain infrastructure and ecosystems. By encouraging homestays/ guest houses in lesser-known areas/villages near Srinagar, border regions, heritage towns and scenic valleys which would enable to disperse tourism pressure for equitable development benefits. This will not only protect fragile destinations but also brings economic activity to areas that have long felt left-out of development narratives. For many rural families, especially those facing declining agricultural incomes, tourism-linked livelihoods offer diversification and stability. For women, homestays create opportunities that are socially acceptable, home-based and income-generating. For youth, they can offer dignity, the self-worth of earning independently without waiting endlessly for government recruitment notifications.
Easing of Procedures for Participation of Youth
Government need to make it easier for unemployed youth, ages 18 to 35, to get involved in community-based tourism. Previous experience shall not become impediment in the inclusion, however, basic training needs to be imparted and shall be enough. This is bound to open the door for more local youth local to run homestays and guest houses, which can cut down on unemployment and stop so many from leaving their hometowns by using youthful energies as a viable human resource. Right now, strict rules make it tough to get started. The J&K Homestay/Guest House Policy, last checked in November 2025, needs revision. The land cap requirement needs to relaxed to 1 kanal for guest houses and need to be eased further in favour of homestays. Government rebates for green building materials, and make it easier to use existing houses or ancestral properties. Most young people just don’t have the cash/capital to buy land or build from scratch. Land alone can cost ₹50-150 lakh per kanal in tourist spots, and putting up a basic structure is another ₹50-125 lakh. That’s out of reach for most. If we bring in real incentives, more young people will see tourism as a way to work for themselves. Mission Youth is already helping and right now, the J&K government supports 500 youth-run homestays with ₹50,000 each for setup. Now it has been increased ₹1.5 lakh, or 15% of the project cost, whichever is less. All one need is to be an unemployed, live locally, and have a simple business plan. That money helps cover things like furniture, marketing, or a few repairs to minimize the pressure capital up front. Government also need to facilitate these to team up with companies like OYO for interest-free or low-interest loans, ₹2-5 lakh to get your homestays going and 5-10 lakhs for guest houses for the unemployed only. National programs, like the Ministry of Tourism’s accommodation approvals, offer tax breaks for rural homestays run by unemployed youth and extend its scope to cover heritage areas of core cities, urban unemployed and urban poor. And to really get things moving, work with influencers to show off offbeat destinations. Let’s move beyond the usual crowded spots like Gulmarg and help travelers discover those hidden gems in border villages.
Needed Safeguards
The inclusion is imperative and must go hand in hand with sustainability. Jammu and Kashmir’s environment is fragile, and unplanned tourism can be as damaging as no tourism at all. Community-based models, when supported with clear carrying-capacity norms, waste management systems and incentives for energy-efficient construction, are better suited to long-term ecological balance than mass tourism driven purely by numbers. Therefore, safety and sustainability measure have to be upheld to ensure it does not inflict damages to the eco-sensitive nature of Kashmir.
Consultation Budget-2026
The forthcoming Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Budget for 2026–27 is an opportunity to embed this thinking into governance. Tourism-related employment should not be treated as a standalone department issue but as a cross-cutting development strategy. Budget allocations must prioritize outcomes and find a way forward for how many youth-led enterprises are created, how many local jobs sustained rather than just infrastructure spending. Investment in basic amenities, digital connectivity and skill training must align with tourism expansion plans through inclusivity.
Monitoring will be crucial. Without transparency, benefits risk being cornered by those who already have access and influence. Social audits, local tourism committees and digital tracking can ensure that first-generation entrepreneurs, especially from urban unemployed, rural and peri-urban areas, are not crowded out. Risk mitigation through insurance and disaster preparedness also need to be infused and must also be built into the system, as small operators are the most vulnerable to shocks. All this needs to covered and provided in the coming budget to mitigate the problems of unemployment, at the same time ensure economic growth and a check on growing drug menace involving the youth of J&K.
Need for Immediate Policy Decisions
At a deeper level, this conversation is about reimagining development in Jammu and Kashmir. For too long, economic security has been associated almost exclusively with government jobs. While public employment remains important, it cannot absorb the growing youth population. A healthy economy requires a strong, confident private and self-employment sector. Tourism, if democratized, can help normalize entrepreneurship as a respectable and attainable path. The success of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir should not be measured only by arrival figures or hotel revenues. It should be measured by how many young people are able to stay back in their hometowns, earn a living with dignity and contribute to their communities. It should be measured by how many households move from uncertainty to stability, from dependence to confidence. Tourism rooted in homes rather than hotels offers such a possibility. It is quieter, slower and less spectacular but radically far more transformative. An immediate policy decision is needed for easing regulations, lowering financial barriers and trusting ordinary citizens as partners in development, Jammu and Kashmir can turn its most celebrated sector into its most inclusive one. In turn it can pave way for tremendous long term cumulative causative socio-economic benefits and trickle down its impact to the common man.
Prioritizing Inclusivity
In the end, the real question is simple is to realize the truth that can a place truly prosper if its youth remain on the margins of its attainment and success? If the answer is no, then the path forward is equally clear and needs to be given priority. Tourism must stop being something that happens around people and start being something that happens through them especially the unemployed and enterprising young of the community. Thus,Jammu & Kashmir must put its “Youth” back at the center of its tourism story instead of quite marginalization and sheer exclusion.
Email:-----------------------------hamwani24@gmail.com
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