Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said Indian tourists’ enthusiasm for Jammu and Kashmir remained strong, and that the Centre would support the development of new destinations in the region.

His comments came amid growing concern in the Valley over the continuing closure of several tourist spots since the Pahalgam attack last April. The home minister did not say when these might be reopened.

Shah, on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, chaired a review meeting in Jammu on Saturday to assess the progress of development projects in the region. Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and chief minister Omar Abdullah participated in the meeting.

“There is a need for aggressive marketing of Jammu and Kashmir’s tourist destinations in other states of the country to explore the tourism potential available here,” an official statement quoted Shah as saying.

The home minister added that the Centre would provide all possible assistance to “develop new tourist destinations in Jammu and Kashmir”.

Tourism players say they faced a difficult 2025 since the Pahalgam attack on April 22, with most hotels struggling to get tourists and thousands left jobless.

“For the first time since April (last year), we received tourists in good numbers in January. For all the preceding months, there were no tourists. It was an extremely tough year,” a Srinagar hotelier said.

Omar had on Thursday told the Assembly that several tourist spots remained closed even 10 months after the Pahalgam attack.

“In this context, discussions are already under way with the Centre and I assure the House that the matter will be taken up with the Union home minister, who is visiting Jammu,” he had said.

Dozens of destinations were closed to tourists in Kashmir following the terror attack that killed 25 tourists and a local pony operator at the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam. Officials say the closures reinforced the notion that the Valley was unsafe for visitors.

Some of these places were gradually reopened, although hotspots such as Dodhpathri and Yusmarg are still out of bounds for tourists, as is Baisaran.

Shah reviewed key sectors such as road infrastructure, power, industry, tourism, and 4G and optical fibre connectivity at the meeting, officials said.

An official spokesperson said Shah’s visit had underlined the Centre’s resolve to make development, peace and security in Jammu and Kashmir a national priority.