Tourist numbers reach 50,000
11/02/08 19:30 Filed in:Ladakh news
More tourists than ever before in Ladakh
February 7, 2008:
Ladakh crossed 50000 mark in tourist inflow last year, which has cast away the apprehension that the popularity of this trans-Himalayan region as a tourist destiny is declining. According to J&K Tourism Department Leh, the number of tourists visited Ladakh last year was 50185 that includes 28178 foreign and 22007 domestic tourists. This figure shows a considerable surge from the previous year’s influx of tourists (43821), which is attributed to more frequent flight operations and suddenly much cheaper air fair option available with the Deccan Airways launching its service between New Delhi and Leh last summer.
The mystic and isolated Ladakh was thrown open to foreign tourists in 1974. It gained instant popularity among them and in a short period tourist influx rose sharply touching 20000 in just about three years. This figure, however, remained constant for many years to come with disturbed periods in between (1989 mass agitation and 1999 Kargil episode) when number of visitors to Ladakh sharply went down.
The incoming of domestic tourists to Ladakh is a recent phenomenon, which was set off by a massive publicity campaign of Sindhu Festival launched by then BJP led NDA government. In 1997, L K Advani, BJP leader and former Union Home Minister, discovered that Sindhu (the Indus River) flowed through Ladakh and he decided to have an annual celebration of Sindhu Festival to give vent to his surcharged ethnical (Sindhi community from Pakistan) and religious sentiments.
This annual festival did bring in lots of domestic tourists in the following years and today the number of domestic tourists has grown almost equal to foreigners even as the rate of increase is much higher than the later. Last year’s figure tells that about 4000 more domestic tourists visited Ladakh than the previous year’s record of 17707.
With the increase in the number of tourists visiting Ladakh there has also been considerable growth in hotels, guest houses and other tourist facilities. According to J&K Tourism Department, Leh, there are 124 hotels with double-bed capacity of 1900 and 365 guest houses with similar bed capacity. In addition, there are 150 restaurants registered with the Tourism department.
These establishments together generate huge employment opportunities. Hotels only employ some 1400 staff including cooks and waiters. Apart from this, some 5000 people are engaged as travel agents, guides, taxi drivers, bus operators and pony men. Tourism department has registered 228 pony men and 165 professional guides.
February 7, 2008:
Ladakh crossed 50000 mark in tourist inflow last year, which has cast away the apprehension that the popularity of this trans-Himalayan region as a tourist destiny is declining. According to J&K Tourism Department Leh, the number of tourists visited Ladakh last year was 50185 that includes 28178 foreign and 22007 domestic tourists. This figure shows a considerable surge from the previous year’s influx of tourists (43821), which is attributed to more frequent flight operations and suddenly much cheaper air fair option available with the Deccan Airways launching its service between New Delhi and Leh last summer.
The mystic and isolated Ladakh was thrown open to foreign tourists in 1974. It gained instant popularity among them and in a short period tourist influx rose sharply touching 20000 in just about three years. This figure, however, remained constant for many years to come with disturbed periods in between (1989 mass agitation and 1999 Kargil episode) when number of visitors to Ladakh sharply went down.
The incoming of domestic tourists to Ladakh is a recent phenomenon, which was set off by a massive publicity campaign of Sindhu Festival launched by then BJP led NDA government. In 1997, L K Advani, BJP leader and former Union Home Minister, discovered that Sindhu (the Indus River) flowed through Ladakh and he decided to have an annual celebration of Sindhu Festival to give vent to his surcharged ethnical (Sindhi community from Pakistan) and religious sentiments.
This annual festival did bring in lots of domestic tourists in the following years and today the number of domestic tourists has grown almost equal to foreigners even as the rate of increase is much higher than the later. Last year’s figure tells that about 4000 more domestic tourists visited Ladakh than the previous year’s record of 17707.
With the increase in the number of tourists visiting Ladakh there has also been considerable growth in hotels, guest houses and other tourist facilities. According to J&K Tourism Department, Leh, there are 124 hotels with double-bed capacity of 1900 and 365 guest houses with similar bed capacity. In addition, there are 150 restaurants registered with the Tourism department.
These establishments together generate huge employment opportunities. Hotels only employ some 1400 staff including cooks and waiters. Apart from this, some 5000 people are engaged as travel agents, guides, taxi drivers, bus operators and pony men. Tourism department has registered 228 pony men and 165 professional guides.