One month after the devastating terror attack on April 22 in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists, the picturesque hotspot resembles a ghost town.
Armed personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF and Indian Army stand vigilant at multiple checkpoints and patrol the deserted streets, a stark contrast to Pahalgam’s usual vibrancy as a tourist haven.
The attack, the deadliest on civilians in India since 2008, has crippled Pahalgam’s tourism-driven economy, leaving local businesses in despair and the region’s iconic charm overshadowed by fear.
“The only people we see are men in uniform,” said Shakeel Ahmad, a local shopkeeper who closed his handicraft store last week. “No tourists, no business—just fear.”
According to the representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Association, 90% of hotels in Pahalgam are either shut or operating at single-digit occupancy, with cancellations exceeding 13 lakh bookings through August. Restaurants and tea stalls, once packed with visitors savoring Kashmiri/Punjabi/ Chinese cuisine, stand deserted, their owners counting losses. “I used to serve 50-60 customers a day. Now, I’m lucky to see one,” said Shabir Ahmad, a restaurant owner near the Lidder River.
The closure of shops selling Pashmina shawls, saffron, and souvenirs has further deepened the economic gloom, with many vendors relocating to Srinagar in search of alternative livelihoods.
The economic fallout is catastrophic for Pahalgam’s residents, who rely almost entirely on tourism. The attack’s timing, ahead of the peak summer season, has wiped out hopes of a bustling year, with losses estimated in crores.
The region’s iconic destinations— Gulmarg, Tangmarg, Sonamarg, and Dal Lake, Shankaracharya temple, Boulevard Road, and Lal Chowk—in Srinagar—remain hauntingly empty, as fear continues to deter visitors.
The Jammu region, including pilgrimage sites like Mata Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori, and tourist hubs like Patnitop, mirrors this bleak reality.
The passenger traffic at Srinagar airport has sharply declined in the last month. Before the Pahalgam terror attack, more than 9000 visitors were landing at the airport. At present, the number has come down to 3000 (average).
The Jammu region transporters, who rely on tourist vehicles to ferry visitors across the region’s scenic routes, are equally distraught. “The highways are empty. We’re running at a loss every day,” said a taxi driver in Jammu, who requested anonymity. The closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway due to landslides in Ramban district in April further compounded the crisis, though it has since reopened for two-way traffic.
The annual Amarnath Yatra, set for July 3, poses a monumental challenge for security forces. With India-Pakistan tensions heightened after “Operation Sindoor”—India’s May 7 missile strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir—and recent LoC skirmishes, ensuring a safe pilgrimage is daunting.
Last week, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar that tourism has been hit quite badly, and we have had very few tourists visiting Kashmir this summer. Right now, our focus is on the Amarnath Yatra — we want it to pass incident-free, and for all the yatris to return safe and sound. After that, we will look into ways to promote tourism,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, while chairing a meeting of the Unified command in Srinagar on Tuesday, directed all the security agencies to conduct precise, intelligence-led operations to neutralise terrorists and dismantle support cells to ensure a safe and peaceful Amarnath pilgrimage.
The terror attack—attributed to Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Resistance Front—has shattered the region’s sense of safety. A ?20 lakh reward for information on three suspected terrorists, including a local and two Pakistani nationals, remains active, with posters plastered across the Valley.
Meanwhile, the investigations in the Pahalgam terror case are also going on, even as anti-terror operations have been intensified to hunt down the perpetrators behind the attack. So far, local service providers and overground workers have been detained and questioned by the NIA teams to gather vital inputs in the case.
Airlines, desperate to revive travel, have slashed fares to historic lows. One-way tickets from Delhi to Srinagar now cost as little as Rs 4,200 and the rates of Srinagar-Jammu flights have dropped to Rs 1999. Yet, the rush remains nonexistent.
On Sunday, stakeholders associated with the Tourism Industry in the valley organized a motor car rally from Dal Lake to Pahalgam, sending out an open invitation to tourists to return to Kashmir. “We are not just telling tourists to come — we are telling them that the people of Kashmir stand united for peace. The doors of our homes are open, our hearts are open.”Kashmir is safe, Kashmir is ready to host you with open arms, read the placards during the rally.