Mumbaikars hit pause on their Kashmir vacay plans

With Pahalgam cordoned off, tourists who are in the valley now are heading to Sonmarg, Srinagar

- Yogesh Naik, Sameera Kapoor Munshi and Shashank Rao

MUMBAI: A day after the terror attack in Pahalgam, vacationers are already cancelling travel plans to Jammu & Kashmir. An idyllic destination for tourists, especially during summer vacations, J&K is being struck off the bucket list of many—for now, at least.

The Maharashtra Tour Organisers' Association claims as many as 5-7 lakh tourists from Maharashtra alone head to J&K every weekend during summer. While small groups cater to 20-30 tourists, larger operators accommodate 100 tourists per trip.

"Tourism had revived after the abrogation of Section 370 in 2019, and was booming lately. It is hard to say whether Tuesday's attack will have a long-term impact but, for now, clients are cancelling their bookings for Jammu & Kashmir for the next 15 days," said Dilip Yadav of Tulip Holidays, a member of the association.

Apart from Pahalgam, other popular locations in the Kashmir Valley, such as Gulmarg, have shut their doors to visitors in the wake of the attack.