Ladakh Travel Trade Alliance, apex body of travel, tourism and hospitality industry trade associations in the UT of Ladakh, has come out in the open against what they call as the “negative attitude” of the UT administration towards marketing and promotion of the destination which is impacting the visitor footfalls and thereby the business and livelihood of the people who are dependent on tourism.
Addressing the media, they said that while the administration has failed in creating any promotional event of its own, the decision of the UT administration and its tourism department not to participate in major trade shows like SATTE, OTM, etc. This year would have disastrous consequences on the tourism economy of Ladakh.
These were important trade shows which the stakeholders used to participate in from the days when they were part of undivided Jammu & Kashmir, said PT Kunzang, chairman of the Ladakh Travel Trade Alliance. These B2B shows are important platforms for destination selling, he added.
Citing huge drop in visitor numbers to Ladakh between 2023 and 2024, Kunzang said that while the neighbouring states like Himachal and J&K are witnessing growth in visitor numbers, in Ladakh the number has dropped almost 40 per centbetween 2023 and 2024. While more than 5 lakh tourists visited Ladakh in 2023, their numbers have declined to 3.6 lakh in 2024.
There hasn’t been a review meeting by the administration or the tourism department to understand the reasons behind this drop in visitor numbers, Kunzang said. This is despite the fact that 70 to 80 per centof the Ladakh economy is dependent on tourism, he said.
“We also have been demanding a tourism calendar for Ladakh which could help us go out and promote tourism based on a calendar. Nothing has happened so far,” he said.
He said that people have invested in hotels, guest houses, tourist taxis, tempos, homestays taking loans from banks. They are facing challenges in repaying the loans and there will be mounting cases of NPAs if tourists stay away from Ladakh.
Speaking to ETTravelWorld, Rigzin Wangmo Lachic, president, All Ladakh Hotel & Guest House Association (ALHGHA) also expressed “disappointment” in the way the administration is withdrawing itself from participating in important travel trade shows. She said that these B2B platforms have been a mainstay of small operators who on their own cannot afford to go and attend.
She said that it’s a misconception that tourism is booming in Ladakh. The fact is that the numbers have been declining, and therefore the businesses are suffering heavily. 40 per centof the tourist traffic comes in a single month of June. She said that focused marketing and promotions are required to expand and extend tourism to other seasons of spring, autumn and winter.
Thinless Namgyal, president of Taxi Union of Ladakh; Tsewang Dorjey (All Ladakh Tour Operators Association), Tashi Yountan, president, Bike Union of Ladakh, and Rigzin Tamchos, president, Tempo operators union of Ladakh were also present at the joint press conference.
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