NEW DELHI: Despite being riddled by conflict, the picturesque state of Jammu and Kashmir has earned a “best emerging tourist destination” award in prestigious travel magazine Lonely Planet India. Buoyed by a relatively peaceful recent years, which have seen very little terrorist activity or even internal strife in the form of strikes, shutdowns and rioting, the state of Jammu and Kashmir which is nestled in the Himalayas, is becoming an increasingly favored destination in the country. The award was given on the basis of votes polled both online and in the LP magazine. “The editor of the magazine in his communication to commissioner/secretary tourism and culture, Atal Dulloo, said that given the importance and scope, the awards will also be covered in the UK edition of the Lonely Planet Magazine,” an official spokesman for the J&K government said. The numbers of tourists visiting Kashmir has grown by leaps and bounds with the state set to reach a target of two million tourists this year, almost 0.7 million footfalls more than last year. And this is excludes the several hundred thousand pilgrims who visit the Hindu pilgrimage site of Amarnath, also located in the same state. Kashmir offers one of the most breathtaking sites in the world, of snow-capped mountains as well as an extensive biodiversity that is unique to the Himalayan region and a unique blend of Hindu as well as Muslim cultures. However, years of political as well as strife between India and Pakistan over control of the region has inspired several decades of terrorism, including bombings, shootings and other terrorist acts, which have not only kept tourists away, but have also denied precious infrastructure development that would have been a huge boon to the tourism industry of the area. However, most of the tourists to Jammu and Kashmir are still domestic, with people from the West still hesitant to visit such areas and only discouraged by travel advisories of Western government cautioning people not to visit the state.
