Pahalgam terror attack: Tourism takes a major hit, 90% bookings cancelled

I had come to Kashmir on April 21 and was planning to stay till the 28th, but now I am terrified and leaving for my home in Haryana,

45-year-old Himani Sharma, who was staying at a hotel on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar city, tells Al Jazeera near the lake as she boards a taxi towards the airport with her family

What has happened is akin to pouring a vial of poison into the food that has just been prepared,

Wani says

Terrorism has no religion. We have always taken care of tourists and have been their support in the high mountains. This tragedy will hit us in the worst ways,

Naushad says, crying

We hired skilled professionals over the last few years. Our chefs and the staff overseeing the catering are among the best in the region,

says Imaad

He tried to snatch their rifle and was trying to save the woman’s father, but he was shot in the head and shoulder,

his brother, Naushad Shah, told Al Jazeera

In a scenario where normal life is heavily under surveillance, it is the government that has to be held accountable. This incident has hurt the locals most; we are in grief,

a local handicraft shopkeeper in the main city of Srinagar tells Al Jazeera, requesting anonymity

A woman whose father was killed told me that my brother confronted the terrorists and tried to reason with them not to kill innocents,

Adil’s brother, Naushad Shah, tells Al Jazeera at his home in Hapat Nar village in Pahalgam, where most of the people either work as pony riders or tourist guides, earning an income of up to $5 a day

I was planning to come this year. But now, I won’t,

said Bhaskar Bhatt, who lives in New Delhi

The precursor for good economic activity is how much good news is coming out of the state,

says Ejaz Ayoub, a Srinagar-based economist

Omar Abdullahchief Minister

It’s heartbreaking to see the exodus of our guests from the Valley after Tuesday’s tragic terror attack in Pahalgam, but at the same time, we totally understand why people would want to leave.”

In a post on X on Wednesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote

Omar Abdullahchief Minister

I have directed the administration to facilitate traffic between Srinagar & Jammu, allowing tourist vehicles to leave,

Abdullah wrote

I was so busy yesterday morning, I didn’t even have time to speak to anyone,

Mushtaq Ahmad, 45, a restaurant owner, tells Al Jazeera

Then, someone brought a female visitor who had been lodging at our hotel back to her room. Her husband had been killed in the attack,

the 31-year-old hotelier tells Al Jazeera

I couldn’t have lifted all the injured survivors myself,

he explains

Indirect taxation decreases due to lower trade volumes,

he added

We are condemned forever. I don’t think the industry will recover now,

he says

I could afford to get my children to study at a private school,

he said

All my 20 rooms were booked for the next month,

he says

I had even been selected to receive the assistance. But unfortunately, it now seems that I cannot take it because I won’t be able to scrape together the rest of the money needed to build the house,

he says

Narendra ModipM

Today, on the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world — India will identify, trace, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth,

PM Narendra Modi said