Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) convened a meeting on March 13 at the Lt. Governor’s Secretariat with tourism stakeholders, the Chairmen of LAHDC Leh and Kargil, and UT Administration officials to discuss strategies for boosting tourism in Ladakh.

At the outset, the Lt. Governor emphasized the need for a collaborative approach between tourism stakeholders, Hill Councils, and the UT Administration to boost Ladakh’s tourist footfall. Citing Goa’s decline in tourism due to high costs and mismanagement, he stressed the importance of proactive measures to prevent a similar downturn in Ladakh, where tourism is a major source of livelihood.

He outlined key steps to attract more visitors, including enforcing fair pricing by taxi drivers and hotels, ensuring high-quality services, promoting budget-friendly tour packages, enhancing homestay standards, and addressing issues like stray dog menace. He also urged tourism promotion across India and encouraged foreign delegates to opt for homestays.

Additionally, the Lt. Governor called for efforts to make Ladakh a corruption-free and efficient region, ensure timely electricity bill payments, minimize underground water extraction, and take up the issue of high airfare with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Vikram Singh Malik, IAS, presented the Tourism Department’s action plan to boost tourism in Ladakh. Key initiatives include creating a tourism festival calendar in collaboration with Hill Councils, participating in major trade shows like OTM and SATTE, branding Ladakh tourism at IGI Airport in New Delhi, and organizing mega events such as the Ladakh Festival (September 2025) and Suru Festival (July 2025).

Additionally, the plan includes hosting familiarization tours for international delegates, hiring professionals for social and digital media promotions, organizing winter sports events, and addressing key concerns of tourists and stakeholders.

Chairman/CEC, LAHDC Leh, Advocate Tashi Gyalson, highlighted key concerns, including obtaining BCAS clearance for commercial flights at Thoise Airport, improving parking bays and evening flight operations at KBR Airport Leh, regulating airfare, and extending the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana to commercial entities. He also stressed the need to include rural areas in tourism incentives, permit domestic tourists to visit Demchok, and airlift stranded Ladakhi citizens from Srinagar.

Chairman/CEC, LAHDC Kargil, Dr. Mohd Jaffer Akhoon, emphasized simplifying the registration process for tour agencies and hotels through a single-window system, reinforcing PMU Tourism staff in Kargil, and providing subsidies for hotel construction. He also called for forming a committee for the successful organization of Suru Festival 2025, implementing a One UT One Permit policy for taxi drivers, allowing limited tourist access to Mushkow Valley in coordination with the Army, and arranging airlifts for stranded passengers from Jammu and Srinagar.

Tourism stakeholders proposed several measures to boost tourism in Ladakh, including maintaining the pre-2018 agreement on taxi movement between Leh and Kargil, addressing parking shortages in Leh town, mandating uniforms for commercial drivers, and securing UT Administration support for the Bikers Festival in September 2025. They also emphasized the need for a strong branding identity for Ladakh tourism, enhanced safety for female travelers, better public conveniences, a simplified registration process for hoteliers, and the introduction of a Film Tourism Incentive Policy. Other key suggestions included organizing familiarization tours for foreign delegates during the Ladakh and Suru Festivals, reviving the Wheel of Life project, and increasing flight frequency to the region.

Regarding the One UT One Permit policy for drivers, the Hon’ble LG stressed the need for consensus between stakeholders from Leh and Kargil. He directed the Chairmen of both Hill Councils to hold discussions with stakeholders and UT Administration officials to reach an early decision. The LG also assured full support in promoting Ladakh tourism and urged tourism representatives from Leh and Kargil to engage with the Minister of Civil Aviation and private airlines to address concerns over airfares, flight frequency, and the operation of flights in Thoise and Kargil.