A record 80 lakh tourists have visited Kashmir since January, the deputy commissioner's office in south Kashmir's Anantnag district has claimed. "Kashmir is witnessing a 'golden period of tourism' as 80 lakh tourists have visited the UT in the past few months alone, breaking all the records of past 20 years," the Anantnag deputy commissioner's office said in a tweet on Tuesday. 

However, the figures quoted in the tweet are far from the actual number of tourists who visited the valley in the first five months of the calendar year. 

According to officials in the tourism department, the number of tourists who have visited Kashmir this year is over nine lakh and is expected to cross the 10-lakh mark by the end of June. 

"If we are talking purely about people who have come as tourists, the numbers have crossed nine lakh from January 1 to May 31," an official of the department said on the condition of anonymity. 

He said the infrastructure in the valley is not yet of the level to accommodate such a large number of tourists. 

Source : Economic Times