LEH: To assess Ladakh’s participation in major upcoming national and international tourism events aimed at showcasing the Union Territory’s unique cultural and adventure potential, a review meeting was held on Friday.
The meeting was chaired by Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Kavinder Gupta. At the beginning of the meeting, Administrative Secretary Sanjit Rodrigues, IAS, apprised the Lt Governor that tourism stakeholders from across Ladakh have urged the UT Administration to facilitate wider participation in major tourism and trade events, strengthen digital outreach, launch targeted promotional campaigns, enhance national and international media visibility, and collaborate with travel platforms, industry partners, and influencers to counter the sharp decline in tourist footfall witnessed in 2025.
He informed that the Tourism Department has already initiated several measures, including a comprehensive plan for Ladakh’s participation in key national and international tradeshows such as SATTE, TTFs, OTM Mumbai, ITB Asia–Singapore, WTM London, and ITB Berlin.
He assured that all tourism stakeholders will be actively involved in efforts to boost winter tourism across the Union Territory.
The Lt Governor stressed the need for a long-term and dynamic strategy to ensure sustained growth in Ladakh’s tourism sector.
He called for an aggressive and well-structured promotional campaign across key global and domestic platforms, noting that Ladakh’s presence at prominent tourism tradeshows must translate into increased tourist footfall and year-round economic gains.
Kavinder Gupta underscored that Ladakh must revive visitor numbers to the peak levels of 2022–23, when the region recorded over five lakh tourist arrivals annually.
To achieve this, he directed that marketing efforts focus on the top 10 international source countries from where Ladakh attracts the most travellers.
Participation in national and international events, he said, should be leveraged as high-impact platforms to position Ladakh as one of the world’s most distinctive destinations.
Highlighting Ladakh’s strong tourist inflow during the summer season, the Lt Governor stressed the importance of extending this momentum into the winter months.
He called for high-quality familiarisation (FAM) tours for leading domestic tour operators, digital influencers, and travel media to promote Ladakh’s signature winter experiences—Chadar Trek, winter sports, the Frozen Pangong Lake Marathon, horse polo, and unique wildlife sightings—to make off-season travel more attractive and commercially rewarding.
Kavinder Gupta noted that such targeted interventions would not only restore Ladakh’s position as a premier tourism destination but would also generate more employment and livelihood opportunities for local communities, particularly youth.
