1. Home
2. Editorial

Tap Pilgrim Tourism

Young Bites. Dated: 1/20/2018 11:25:13 AM

Government has initiated requisite measures for the development of prominent religious places to improve facilities for the pilgrims. The city of temples, Jammu, has great potential in the field of tourism as edifices, monuments, religious and other scenic places, which reflect the culture and tradition. It has set a great example of religious harmony and development of religious places for the promotion of the pilgrim tourism in the region is the utmost priority of the government. Jammu & Kashmir with its vast potential and growing economy has immense potential for the sustenance of the tourism industry. Tourism has historically remained an instrument of economic growth in the State of Jammu & Kashmir and has contributed a lot in developing the economy, particularly in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. This sector has given jobs to a large number of people and generated economic activities especially in the tertiary sectors. Its impact is visible in service industry sectors of the State such as transport, hospitality, horticulture and small scale industry.Despite promotion and campaigns, religious tourism does not add value or make any impact on the economy of the state, Jammu Kashmir government has said in a recently released report. Though the number of pilgrim tourists to the state has reached to more than 8 million people in 2014 and 15, however, there are not considerable economic benefits from this kind of tourism to the state, according to the recently released Economic Survey 2016. In view of the fact that pilgrim tourists do not add much value to the economy of the region therefore, the increase in number of pilgrim tourists to Jammu or Kashmir does not make substantial impact on economy of the region excepting that it increases some economic activities in the local vicinity of pilgrimage places. The negligible impact of the pilgrim tourism on the state economy has got revealed by the Economic Survey at a time when the consecutive governments in Jammu and Kashmir have put tremendous focus on the promotion of religious tourism with the help of central government. The Jammu region endowed with natural beauty, is dotted with a number of historical monuments like Mubarak Mandi complex, Bagh-e-Bahu, Bahu Fort and Mohamaya Rakh, Gurudwaras, Darghas and a number of temples. Raghunath temple, Pirkho temple, Ranbireshwar temple, Panchvaklar and Panjtirthi temple, Mohamaya temple, Gurudwaras at Jain bazar and Raghunath bazars, Darghas at Pir Mitha, Mastgarh, Ustad Mohala Talab Khatikan and Gumat are the main religious places in and around the Jammu city which have the potential for the development of pilgrimage tourism.