Ladakh longs for tourists who give region a miss

Ladakh is a popular tourist destination. Year after year, people from all over – both India and abroad – visit to soak in nature’s beauty in the far-flung region that for the most part is above 9,800 feet above sea level. 

The rush of tourists was witnessed last summer too with some 2.5 lakh of them descending on the region. Their numbers translated into eight times the population of locals in the city of Leh, the largest city of Ladakh.

But that was last year.

This summer though, the footfalls of tourists have drastically declined, leaving much of Leh and Ladakh desolate. Hotels and homestays are reportedly going unoccupied while tourist cabs are mostly idling.

As tour operators and those involved with tourism scratch their heads in both dismay and wonder at the sudden downturn in the tourist influx, what is bothering most of them is why.

The answer is not far to seek. Those in the know say the sharp drop in tourist numbers has links to the suspension of flights of Go First airline.  The ultra-budget airline used to ferry in outsiders every day in huge numbers till financial troubles brought its operations to a sudden halt some two months ago.

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“Go First had eight flights daily to and from Leh – connecting it to centres such as Srinagar, Delhi and Mumbai – before it suspended operations,” pointed out Rehana Khan, officiating airport manager of Go First in Leh. Scores of tourists came in with every flight, something that has now virtually stopped. 

But besides curtailing tourist inflow, the suspension of a major airline has also had an unintended consequence: airlines that still operate out of Leh and connect it to the outside world have hiked airfares abnormally. 

“A one-way airfare from Delhi to Leh costs INR 25,000, equivalent to an international airfare from Delhi to Dubai. The price hike in airfare resulted in a major dip in tourist footfall in Ladakh this year,” Delek Namgail, president of the All Ladakh Tour Operation Association, said.

The upshot is empty streets and hotels. “From the beginning of May to the mid of June, the number of tourists was half of previous years. It has had a major impact on the whole economy, restaurants, and the bazaars,” added Namgail.

The worst hit of course are those connected with tourism. Empty hotels and homestays apart, the 5000-odd taxis, 300 tempos and 3000 motorbikes that till last year could not cope with the tourist rush are mostly lying underutilized.

That tourism is sluggish this season is best showcased by the pristine Pangong Lake that served as the locale for the celebrated Aamir Khan-starrer Bollywood movie 3idiots. Unlike other years, the lake ringed by peaks is unusually quiet with few tourists coming down to the scenic spot.

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Locals are dismayed to find their surroundings so desolate. 

Kunsang Lhundup, 22, had hoped to kickstart his career by building a four-roomed hotel. But without guests, he thinks he has burnt his fingers. “A profession in the tourism industry is very unreliable and risky – it may collapse anytime” he repented.

This has particularly been a bad summer for Ladakh. The warmer months – the period that tourists prefer to visit it – were late in arriving this year with untimely snowfall witnessed around high passes. It meant frequent road blockages at Zojila pass connecting Leh to Srinagar, further disrupting the inflow of tourists.

Anguish meanwhile has taken hold of Ladakhis. “There is no livelihood without tourism but there is no tourist this year,” lamented Tsering Namgail, the owner of Royal Camp near the shore of another popular destination Tso Moriri lake. “The summer season is the time to make money, but this time we are not making any,” he added.

Adding to the anguish is the locals’ overwhelming dependence on tourism. Some 200-300 hotel rooms are added every year in the region. At the same time, many continue to take out loans to buy taxis with the hope of making a decent livelihood in a region with few other employment avenues. 

But now that tourists have mostly given the region, the collective misery is giant-sized too. Picturesque Ladakh seems far less beautiful to many locals. 

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The lead image shows Leh town, congested with hotels, restaurants and cafés (Photo by Dawa Dolma)

Dawa Dolma is a freelance journalist based in Leh. She writes about climate change, communities, and culture of the Himalayas. She is a Rural Media Fellow 2022 at Youth Hub, Village Square.