Jammu, Feb 12 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir government said on Thursday that it has spent over Rs 76 crore on tourism promotion in the union territory during the last two years, out of which over Rs 29 crore were spent in the Jammu division and over Rs 27 crore in the Kashmir division.
The union territory government told the Legislative Assembly that the expenditure has been in the two divisions during the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Replying to a question raised by BJP MLA Yudhvir Sethi, the government said that in the Jammu division, an expenditure of over Rs 16 crore was incurred in 2024-25, while Rs 12 crore has been spent in 2025-26 so far. In the Kashmir division, the department spent over Rs 14 crore during 2024-25 and Rs 13 crore in the current financial year till January 2026.
The government said several initiatives have been undertaken to restore traveller confidence and increase tourist footfall across the union territory.
These include aggressive digital marketing, social media campaigns and publicity through print and electronic media.
The department has also participated in 10 national and international travel marts to showcase Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism potential.
To generate positive publicity, Bollywood celebrities were invited for familiarisation (FAM) tours in the Jammu division between June 28-30 and July 2-6, 2025, during which they interacted with local stakeholders.
The government further informed the House that winter sports events were organised at Bhaderwah on January 17-18, 2026, while another event was scheduled at Sartal on February 8. A budget of Rs three crore has been sanctioned for the development of winter sports infrastructure at Bhaderwah and Basohli/Sartal during 2025-26.
In addition, 78 promotional events have been organised across the Jammu region, including campaigns through hoardings, newspapers, radio and social media, to promote Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra and other tourist destinations, the government said.
–IANS
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