Describing tourism as the backbone of the economy of Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said time has come to rebuild tourism infrastructure in the state and recover from losses suffered due to militancy.

"Time has come to rebuild our tourism infrastructure in such a manner so that besides having international compatibility this sector shall be able to recover from all the losses which this industry has suffered in the recent past," Abdullah said while interacting with representatives associated with the sector at a function organised by Travel Agents Society of Kashmir here.

The chief minister agreed with some representatives that rumours regarding presence of Taliban in Kashmir in the international media affected tourist arrivals but said the government had effectively refuted them.

"The communication by (state tourism minister) Nawang Rigzin Jora helped to restore the confidence of the tourist," he said.

The chief minister said he daily monitored tourist arrivals to the state. The flow of visitors from other states, neighbouring countries, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Central Asia was increasing though the graph of arrivals from the west showed a dip, he said.

"This is the time for tourism department to concentrate on this shift of tourist flow and play its role in attracting people from these countries," he said.