Ladakh waits to welcome guests again | April - 2020

Ladakh waits to welcome guests again

The Covid-19 outbreak has had an unprecedented impact on the economy of the region.

Sakshi Singh  |  April 23, 2020, 16:05 IST

After Ladakh was declared a Union Territory in August 2019, for the first time after independence, it got a chance to carve a niche for itself. Post the status change, the beautiful mountainous region went on a marketing and brand-building spree. The campaigns were aimed at holistic and sustainable tourism growth in the region.

One of the major initiatives was the Ladakh Winter Conclave, where the newly-born UT was set to showcase its culture, heritage, wildlife and winter tourism opportunities to the travel industry. “Unfortunately by mid-March, we saw a lot of cancellations and a substantial drop in queries,” Rigzin Wangtak Kalon, Owner, Lchang Nang Retreat, a boutique property situated in Nubra Valley told us.

Things Falling Apart

When Ladakh was first opened for tourism in 1974, just 527 people had visited the mountain-tucked beauty. Today, thousands stream into the cold valley, every year. Tourism has reached a scale, where close to 70% of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on the sector. Due to an overt dependence on tourism, the Covid-19 outbreak has had an unprecedented impact on the economy of the region. Kalon says that, for Ladakh, the period from April to June can be categorised as the peak season, dominated by domestic tourists, whereas July to September is the time when inbound tourists visit the region.

All the hotels in the region are shut since March 2020. “Even if Covid-19 situation improves by June, the sentiment all over the world would be low enough to deter travel plans. We, in Ladakh, have a very pessimistic view about how the tourist season is going to pan out, this year,” Kalon added.

Though travellers’ sentiments will be low for some time, Kalon feels that once the current situation subsides, tourism in Ladakh can ramp up its marketing initiatives in a phased manner. “Even in this grim situation, we can still do digital marketing on social media platforms,” he says. Regular updates on social media is a good way to stay connected with prospective customers and can also to help to ease sentiments.

Future Tense

Stakeholders in Ladakh’s tourism sector are expecting support from the administration to survive the disruption. According to Kalon, bailout packages for businesses in the form of subsidies, relaxation in loans, waiver of license fees, taxes, etc have become a much-needed help. Without the government’s intervention, regions like Ladakh, where tourism contributes significantly to the local economy, will not be able to function efficiently.

“Travellers who were booking their trip in advance (two to six months) may start looking at shorter booking horizons (few weeks or few days in advance),” Kalon anticipates. Besides the booking timelines, Ladakh is staring at various changes in the tourism industry. For instance, travel insurance, which currently doesn’t have widespread acceptability in India, may see a significant boost. Sustainable tourism had been gaining popularity. The current crisis is expected to accelerate the adoption of sustainable and inclusive growth models. The future is uncertain, but true to its nature, Ladakh is eagerly waiting to welcome its guests again.

 

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