It has been over a year since a new government came to power in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Eight months after the brutal Pahalgam massacre that led to restrictions and a downslide in tourism, the region seems to be limping back to normalcy. Tourist inflows, which touched a record 24 million in 2024 and showed a similar surge in the early months of 2025, crossing 9 million in the first four months, dipped substantially after the terror incident in April. The government decided to shut 48 important tourist spots for several weeks after Home Minister Amit Shah, during his visit to Pahalgam on April 23, ordered a complete security review of those sites.

In the last couple of years, until the Pahalgam incident, hotels, resorts and houseboats often saw 100 per cent occupancy with months of advance reservations. An acute shortage of rooms was experienced during peak tourist season. That kind of rush is yet to come back, although hotels in Srinagar are reporting 50-60 per cent occupancy in December.

Since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, there has been a change in mood at the grassroots in the Valley. The greatest support for Prime........

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