Jammu and Kashmir has a fresh new start in tourism with Sonamarg being the brightest star of that success with more than 1,98,425 tourists coming to the area in January to March, 2026.
So far, Sonamarg has received a tremendous amount of interest from both international tourists and locals alike due to its growing accessibility and improvement of infrastructure.
The total number of tourists to Sonamarg includes guests from all three categories (domestic, international and local) and are also increasingly choosing this location as a safe and friendly.
Just like in Gulmarg and Pahalgam sonamarg has also seen hotel occupancy rates of between 70% – 100% at peak winter stays.
The opening of the Z-Morh Tunnel is a significant development and allows tourism in the valley to now be available to visitors all year long, regardless of weather conditions.
The successful launching of new winter activities such as ice-skating, skiing and snowshoeing have significantly developed the location into being a much more competitive winter destination.
The unprecedented number of visitors to Sonamarg has provided local shop owners, hoteliers and transportation companies new life and new hope for the youth in this area with options to create new businesses such as snow biking and sledding.
Tourism officials are working on providing appropriate long-term solutions for environmental sustainability within the framework of an updated waste management facility that has been built in Sarbal to protect the fragile alpine ecology.
In contrast to record-breaking numbers, the next step forward for the area will be taking care of the environment with responsibility (environmental preservation). The increase in visitors coming to the area results in greater responsibility to ensure that there is environmental preservation.
As part of a greater strategy to have Kashmir become a top global destination, international promotion will take place at events such as FITUR 2026 to ensure that tourism grows successfully in early 2026.
The success of the New Year period proves that Sonamarg has remained timeless from the Thajiwas Glacier through to the high-altitude lakes, as well as demonstrates that Kashmir will continue to succeed and be an important world-class tourism destination.
