As tourism dims in Kashmir amid border tensions, visitors flock to Jammu's Patnitop

NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing border tensions between India and Pakistan, tourism in Kashmir remains disrupted, hill stations like Patnitop and Batote in Jammu’s Udhampur district are seeing a surge in visitors. Many travellers from Jammu and surrounding areas are now choosing to stay in these towns, seen as safer and more stable.
Following the attack in Pahalgam, bookings and footfall dropped sharply across Jammu and Kashmir . Patnitop also felt the impact. However, with ongoing unrest in the Valley, tourists have started heading towards quieter and calmer destinations in Jammu — offering some relief to the local economy.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Rajesh Kumar, a hotelier in Patnitop, said that business had come to a complete halt after the Pahalgam incident.

"Ever since the situation in Pahalgam worsened, our work was absolutely zero, the people who were from here fled from Jammu and are now coming to live here. Now we have got relief because vehicles have come, otherwise, the situation was bad," he said.
Tourist Kiran Patel, visiting from Gujarat, said she had to cut her Kashmir trip short due to restrictions. “We have come from Gujarat to visit Jammu and Kashmir. When we left, the situation here had become serious. We went to Srinagar, and the situation there had become very serious. We could only go to Sonamarg, everything else was closed, then we came to Patnitop and have been staying in a hotel here for two nights. We saw all the places here and we felt very safe,” she said.

While uncertainty continues in the Valley, Patnitop and Batote have become a temporary retreat for holidaymakers, allowing hotels and small businesses to slowly recover.