A deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam last month, which claimed that the lives of 26 tourists had a direct consequence: travelers are now skipping Jammu and Kashmir in favor of other hill resorts to defeat summer heat.
According to industrial experts, Kashmir has become a preferred tourist destination over the past two years. But after 22 April attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Meadow, tourists are considering destinations in other Kopc states such as Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
According to shared travel portals Easemytrip and Ixigo, Munnar and Vagamon in Kerala, Kull-Manali, Shimla and Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh and Dehradun in Utrakhand have seen an increase in air travel demand. According to Ixigo data, flight reserve for traveling to Kull could shoot by 188% year -on -year, 133% to Dehradun and 64% to Shimla.
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Rikant Pittie, CEO and co -founder Easemytrip, said Mint that tourists re -deploy their plans and prefer familiar and safer hilly destinations, where infrastructure and availability are well introduced. “Travelers are increasingly preferred by safety and stability, and this shift in sentiment encourages wider redistribution of tourist traffic across Indian hill districts. Among other destination
In the north, Himachal Pradesh has become a key recipient of this redistribution of tourist traffic. Easemytrip data showed that Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala and Kulle also recorded an increase in queries for hotels.
Ajay Prakash, President of the Indian Federation of Travel Agents, said Mint that in the current season tourists avoid Kashmir because of the factor of fear that would put pressure on other hilly stations. He also expects tickets to increase.
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“Other hilly stations must prepare to handle other tourists and traffic. It is expected that tickets to cities with hopping stations will see an increase of 15-20% due to surprising demand,” Prakash said.
According to Easemytrip, the average ticket for May increased by 30%, 20-30%and 25%, respectively for flights to Shimla and Manali, Dehradun and Kerala.
Prakash is also of the opinion that the successful AmarNath Yatra – an annual pilgrimage performed by the Hindu devoted Amarnath Cave temple, a sacred shrine located in Pahalgam, will again be confident about traveling to Kashmir. The pilgrimage starts in July and lasts 45 days.
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EasyMytrip expects Southern Hill, such as Munnar and Vagamon, already popular, will experience an even stronger increase in visitors due to a decline in Kashmir’s tourism after a terrorist attack.
(Tagstotranslate) Tourism
