1. Enterprising Ladakh
Prosperity, Youth Enterprise and Cultural Values in Peripheral Regions
Working Paper No 2
Travel & Tourism
by
Madhupa Chatterjee
Shivanu Kohli
Atul Singh
Center for Development of Corporate Citizenship
S P Jain Institute of Management & Research Mumbai
July 2005
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh
Druk Pema Karpo Educational Society
Drukpa Trust
in association with
SECMOL

2. Preface
This Working Paper was prepared as part of an 18-month project entitled
‘Enterprising Ladakh’. The Paper seeks to identify economic opportunities
available to Ladakhis – especially young Ladakhis - in local, national and
international markets. The findings will be discussed at a Workshop in Leh in July
2005, with the objective of identifying economic activities that Ladakhis
themselves consider feasible, acceptable and appropriate within Ladakhi society
and values.
Subsequently, the project team will scope the skills and attributes required to
access the preferred market opportunities, while the final stage of the project will
outline a new school curriculum to impart enterprise-related skills and motivation
to young Ladakhis, alongside traditional teaching of cultural and ecological
values.
‘Enterprising Ladakh’ is a project being conducted by the Ladakh Autonomous
Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh, Druk Pema Karpo Educational Society
and Drukpa Trust, in association with SECMOL.
The findings set out in this Working Paper are the work of Ms. Madhupa
Chatterjee, Mr. Shivanu Kohli and Mr. Atul Singh of the Center for Development
of Corporate Citizenship, S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai.
The work was carried out under the supervision of Professor Jiban
Mukhopadyay, Professor M. S. Rao and Professor Nirja Mattoo (Chair of the
Centre for Development of Corporate Citizenship).
You are kindly invited to communicate your views on this Working Paper to the
project team:
Project Coordinator
'Enterprising Ladakh'
Hemis Complex, Zangsti
Leh, Ladakh -194 101
Phone: +91 94191 77536; 252 133
enterprisingladakh@rediffmail.com
This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European
Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Ladakh
Autonomous Hill Development Council, Druk Pema Karpo Educational Society
and Drukpa Trust, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the
position of the European Union.
i

3. Executive Summary
Ladakh: The Situation today
Ladakh was opened to tourists in the year 1974. It had a subsistence economy
before that, using barter system. But with the opening of the roads suddenly
Ladakh was exposed to the money economy, which was unknown to these
people. Today Ladakh is in a state of transition and is in a poised in a very
delicate situation.
In these few decades there has been a shift in the employment pattern in Ladakh
wherein people who were mostly working in agriculture have now moved to other
lucrative options like the tourism industry, army scouts and other quicker money
making options. Tourism has developed in a big way, generating Rs. 42 cores
yearly for this region, but in a very unstructured and haphazard manner. Right
now if measures are not taken to deal with developing the tourism sector and
properly channelising these efforts, it would not be long before a unique place
like Ladakh will be lost.
The Outcomes of the Project
We have tried to give a very realistic and relevant study of the Ladakh Tourism
Industry and the potential it holds for the next 20 years. The demographics of the
tourists have been thoroughly analysed to know which market needs to be
targeted and focused upon. Through this report we have tried to address the
issue of non-availability of data by extensive empirical analysis and provide a
realistic view of the data that we have obtained from various sources.
A brand building programme for Ladakh called “Ladakh: The Himalayan gift to
India” gives an overall view of the branding strategy that Ladakh needs to
project itself as not just another tourist destination. Moreover, any kind of
branding effort should target only quality tourists and not lead to the choking of
Ladakh. Taking care of supply-side of industry can prevent this predicament; a
detailed plan has been laid out as a part of our branding strategy.
The cultural tourism business plan that we have presented in this report is a step
towards making Ladakh a place that is truly a tourist’s dream. Through this plan
we aim to increase the spatial spread of the tourism industry within Ladakh,
which has until now been concentrated in Leh city. The plan envisages
development of village clusters along the trek routes, which shall serve as the
destination for the adventure, cultural tourist segment.
We hope that the work we have done will help in the overall development
process of a region as beautiful and untouched as Ladakh.
ii

4. Abbreviations & References
Abbreviations
GDP-Gross Domestic Product
CNG-Compressed Natural Gas
USP-Unique Selling Proposition
NPV-Net Present Value
YOY-Year on Year
SWOT- Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat analysis
References
Mr. Tundup, Tourist Officer, J&K govt.
Proprietor, Adventure Experience (a specialist in adventure tours)
Proprietor, Hotel Oma-Sila (A Class Hotel)
Proprietor, Hotel Spic n Span (A Class Hotel)
Proprietor, Oriental Guest House
Mr. Tadbar Oga, Chairman Travel agents association of Ladakh
Proprietor, Overland tourism (a specialist in cultural tours)
Mr. Sonam Wangchuk, SECMOL (working for Vision 2020 sub-committee on
Tourism)
Proprietor, Hotel Yak-Tail (B Class Hotel)
Proprietor, Hotel IBEX (C Class Hotel)
iii

5. Table of Content
1. Tourism Sector................................................................................................5
1.1 Current Status .............................................................................................5
1.2 The Vision 2025 as envisioned by LAHDC ..................................................6
1.3 The Project ..................................................................................................7
2. The Sector .......................................................................................................7
2.1 The market potential....................................................................................7
2.2 The Demographics of the Sector.................................................................8
2.3 Verticals in the tourism sector .....................................................................8
2.4 The Target Market .......................................................................................9
3. The Challenge ...............................................................................................10
4. The Impact of Tourism .................................................................................11
4.1 Environmental Impact................................................................................11
4.2 Social Impact.............................................................................................11
4.3 Cultural Impact ..........................................................................................12
5. Feasibility analysis .......................................................................................12
5.1 Adventure Tourism ..................................................................................13
5.2 Cultural Tourism ........................................................................................13
5.3 Edu-tourism ...............................................................................................14
5.4 Religious tourism.......................................................................................14
5.5 Winter tourism ...........................................................................................15
6. Feasibility plan for Cultural tourism............................................................16
6.1 The Model .................................................................................................16
6.2 The stake holders......................................................................................16
6.3 The Proposed Structure for Home stays network......................................16
6.4 Financial Analysis of Home Stays .............................................................15
6.5 Project highlights .......................................................................................15
7. Branding ........................................................................................................15
7.1 Aim of the Branding Strategy.....................................................................15
7.2 The Concept of Branding ..........................................................................16
7.3 Why do we need to brand Ladakh?...........................................................16
7.4 The Ladakh experience .............................................................................17
7.5 The Process ..............................................................................................18
8. Conclusion ....................................................................................................20
Annexure 1: Year wise Tourist Inflow in numbers ..............................................I
Annexure 2:Number of Tourist Arrivals ..............................................................I
Annexure 3:Nationality wise arrival of tourists ....................................................I
Annexure 4: Month wise tourist arrival ...............................................................I
Annexure 5: Tourist Arrival Projections .............................................................II
Annexure 6: Tourist Expenditure Projections ...................................................III
Annexure 7: Financial Analysis of Cultural tourism ..........................................III
iv

6. 1. Tourism Sector
1.1 Current Status
The history of tourism in Ladakh is relatively recent, going back by only three
decades. Ladakh being opened in the year 1974, the tourism industry has since
grown from 527 to 35091 arrivals in 2004, in volume terms (Annexure 1) and this
growth has not been steady. The first decade saw somewhat steady growth, but
remained erratic in the early eighties. In the second decade, the tourist arrivals
reached the maximum of around 25000 in 1988, which coincided with the
observance of the Kalachakra ceremony. Disturbances in the nineties saw a
steep fall in tourist arrivals. However, with events like the “Sindhu Darshan” the
tourist figures have seen a real increase with the last year witnessing the highest
ever tourist turnout in Ladakh, touching a figure of 35,000 in just 4 months (from
June to September).
The overwhelming proportion of foreign tourist arrivals in Ladakh has come down
from 84% in 1992 to 62% in 2004. The number of domestic tourist arrivals is on
an increase, which is a positive sign for this sector. The total number of foreign
tourist arrivals has seen a significant increase in the year 2004 over 2003, with
Europeans being predominant. Some observations about the sector can be
summarised as:
The tourism industry is major contributor to the local economy contributing
around 50% of the local GDP. According to estimates, tourism industry
revenues amounted to Rs. 42 cores in 2003.
The extreme temperature conditions and high altitude makes seasonality
a major factor in this sector. The tourist season in Ladakh starts in end of
May and finishes in end of September.
The number of tourist arrivals in 2004 was 35,000, which had
approximately 11,000 domestic tourists and 24,000 foreign tourists. Refer
to the Annexure 1 for yearly figures. Thus, there is a predominance of
foreign tourists in Ladakh.
Arrival figures from Annexure 2 show that almost 60% tourist arrivals
were by air. Among those arriving by air, almost 73% were foreigners in
1997. Also, among those arriving by road, 85 were foreigners, mainly
trekkers.
Unlike the other parts of the Himalayas, the tourist season in Ladakh
coincides with the busy agricultural season. Much of the tourism activity
involves trekking, rafting and mountaineering, thus there is a shortage of
labour for this sector which is being fulfilled by people coming from other
tourist places and taking away the money which belongs to the Ladakhis.
The nodal agency for tourism promotion is Jammu and Kashmir Tourism
Department, which has been aiming to develop a sustainable model of
operation through the development of private enterprise in this sector.
Annexure 3 details out the nationality distribution of the foreign tourists for
the analysis of the countries to be targeted for increasing the tourist
5

7. numbers from these countries. From the table it is evident that eight
countries contribute 50% of the foreign tourists coming to Ladakh. Since
the majority of the publicity takes place through word of mouth, hence
ensuring comfort and satisfaction of these tourists is likely to ensure an
increase in the tourist inflow from these countries.
The majority of tourists coming are French, Italian, British, German,
American, Japanese, Canadian, and Australian in order of percentage
contribution. Hence, these countries need to be targeted for promotional
efforts.
Annexure 4 details out the monthly distribution of tourist arrivals. These
arrivals show that the tourist season is very limited and lasts for only 4
months. Even among these times the foreign tourist and Indian tourists
have different seasons of arrivals. This provides an opportunity for
targeting the tourists separately.
1.2 The Vision 2025 as envisioned by LAHDC
Future of Tourism in Ladakh
The vision can be described in the following sections:
Ladakh an Eco-Destination by 2010 to 2015
o Environmental Impact Assessment Study to ascertain the carrying
capacity of the land
o Let Ladakh be known for nature & environment care- public
education & awareness movement
o A diesel-free Leh - use CNG or electric cars and taxis
o Organic food in all hotels/guest houses
o Modern versions of compost toilets
o Use the above as Ladakh’ s USP (Unique Selling Point)
Community Based Tourism
o Decentralise tourism infrastructure to villages.
o Promote community based rural tourism
o Let Ladakh be known for a different –’People to People’ tourism.
o Avoid 5-star multinational chains.
o Coordination in Infrastructure development
o Choice of new road construction vis-à-vis trekking routes
o Discover new trekking routes.
o Avoid industrial landmarks in tourist areas
o Architectural code for Leh town
o Maintain Ladakh’s rustic beauty.
o Do things differently in Ladakh.
o Plan and build infrastructure before opening new areas for tourism.
Garbage & Sanitation
o Efficient and environmentally sound garbage disposal.
o Functional and ecological public toilets.
6

8. Prolong Tourist Season and Promote Winter Tourism
o Support only Solar heated winter operational Hotels/Guest houses
o Promote monastery and other festivals in winter
o Promote Chaddar trek for winter to
o Promote ice and snow games
o Ice and snow parks, hotels like in other cold countries
Long-term plans
o Promote Silk Route trek in Nubra
o Nomadic home stays in Changthang
o Ice Theme Park at Khardong-la in summer
o Promote Conference tourism- support infrastructure.
o Museum of Human & Natural History of the region.
o Cable trolley to Khardong la
1.3 The Project
The Vision 2025 as envisioned by the LAHDC is very broad and talks of various
aspects, some of which are under the purview of the LAHDC directly while some
need a concrete plan to start with. We have concentrated on those parts of the
Vision, which do not have an implementation plan in place and tried to formulate
a proper strategy for those.
Our work encompasses:
Studying the impact of the tourism sector on the local environment
Estimating the market potential of the tourism sector
Analysing the feasibility of each of the verticals
A business plan for the community-based tourism
A brand building strategy for Ladakh
And all these are done keeping the environmental impacts in mind so that they
do not hamper the harmony that man shares with nature in Ladakh.
2. The Sector
2.1 The Market Potential
The tourism industry is a Rs. 420 Mn business as of year 2003. By year 2020, at
a nominal annual inflation of 5% and average yearly increment of 8% in the
number of tourists, the industry is expected to generate Rs. 3 billion, Annexure
6. In the short period of 4 months, on average, an hotelier earns revenue of Rs
1.5-2.0 Mn with a profit of 50%. A typical tour operator earns revenue of Rs. 2.0
Mn with a profit percentage of 40%. This makes tourism a short period but highly
profitable business, especially with the foreign groups increasing by the day.
However, the government, which has guesthouses in most of the tourist places
and villages, earns a paltry profit of Rs. 20,000/-. This shows that this business is
best left to the private initiatives in the state, which has been the government
policy ever since.
7

9. 2.2 The Demographics of the Sector
The stakeholders in the sector are:
Guest house owners
Tour operators
Taxi operators
Cooks, guides and support staff
Jammu & Kashmir tourism development corporation
Retail
Hotels and Guesthouses: Most of these were started during the late seventies or
early eighties once the region was opened in 1974. The hotels are managed by
the Ladakhis themselves. Due to the Central Government policy, no outsider
other than the people of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) are allowed to buy land in this
state, thus restricting the hoteliers to be either Ladakhis or people from J&K. This
creates a dual situation for the place where on the one hand this part of the
tourism industry is controlled solely by Ladakhis or as joint ventures with people
from J&K, thereby trying to keep the money earned within Ladakh. Whereas on
the other hand, it bars bigger corporates to enter the state and set up big hotel
chains which cater to the up-market niche audience, which then becomes a lost
opportunity for Ladakh.
The tour operators and taxi operators are also the local people. However, all
these stakeholders have to employ people like cooks, guides and other support
staff that come from places like Nepal, Goa and other tourist destinations - the
reason being that most of the Ladakh people do not qualify for the necessary
skills for these jobs, hence people from outside perform these jobs. Thus the
money flows outside Ladakh through these channels.
2.3 Verticals in the tourism sector
Tourism could be divided into various ‘verticals’ along which we could identify the
opportunities; listed below are the verticals along with a definition:
Adventure tourism: Involves trekking, rock climbing, and river rafting and is
quite famous with the groups of foreign tourists and a very small
population of Indian tourists. Majority of the foreign tourists come to
Ladakh for this vertical.
Cultural/Community-based tourism: Involves longer stay at a place and
getting a feel of the culture of the place through practical involvement in
the day-to-day chores of the host.
Edu-tourism: Involves mostly conferences, training, brain-storming
sessions and other management development programmes being
conducted at a far of location, which offers a change and relief from the
8

10. normal stressful life and helps in better assimilation of learning and idea
generation.
Spiritual tourism: Involves visits to religious places or fests; in the context
of Ladakh’s monasteries, offers a place where Buddhists and others find
their roots. Also, with the introduction of Sindhu darshan this has provoked
a lot of domestic tourists to come to Ladakh.
Health tourism: Involves treatment through the use of local knowledge and
materials like natural herbs or hot springs. Both the resources are amply
available in Ladakh in the form of Amchis and natural high altitude flora
and fauna, which have medicinal properties.
Winter tourism: Involves travelling in the extended period of tourism to
exploit and view the other side of the coin. This could be developed with
unique sub-zero dry conditions with winter sports, ice theme parks etc.
The infrastructure required is huge, but if promoted could be turned into a
major tourist hot spot for the domestic tourists.
2.4 The Target Market
The market segmentation for this sector is high. The various segments are as
follows; in brackets is the relative percentage of the total tourists (Annexure 5)
Foreign tourists (60%)
o Adventure tourists (30%)
o Sight seeing tourists (12%)
o Cultural and Adventure tourists (18%)
Indian tourists (40%)
o Sight seeing tourists (36%)
o Adventure tourists (4%)
In terms of revenue generated by each segment the percentages (Annexure 6)
Foreign tourists (77%)
o Adventure tourists (46%)
o Sight seeing tourists (9%)
o Cultural and Adventure tourists (22%)
Indian tourists (23%)
o Sight seeing tourists (22%)
o Adventure tourists (1%)
Hence, the majority of revenue generated for the sector is through the adventure
tourism by the foreign tourists who generally come in groups of 4-20 with
bookings through the travel agents. This is followed by cultural and adventure
tourists, who stay for long periods of time and are involved in the both adventure
as well as cultural experience. This is the type of the tourists who hold potential
for the future of the tourism in Ladakh.
9

11. 3. The Challenge
The Himalayas in Ladakh are very different from its other parts and have a very
unique set of attributes and features. The people here are very honest and
hospitable. However, tourism has not been able to develop full throttle here due
to some inherent but surpassable constraints. Here are some of the glaring ones:
Seasonality and accessibility are one of the very important issues in front
of tourism in Ladakh. Frequency of the air services is very low with 6 flights
operating a day in and out of Leh. This becomes a real problem as the Leh-
Manali and Leh-Jammu highways are closed for about 7 months of the year.
Thus, development of winter tourism gets a major blow. Also, inside Ladakh,
some parts are not accessible throughout the year: e.g. reaching remote
places like Koyoul, where there is no motor able road in spite of being a
border area with China. This brings two issues in focus:
• Increase the very short tourist season in Ladakh
• Increase the accessibility to and inside Ladakh.
Poor promotion and marketing of brand Ladakh is responsible for the
poor turnout of the domestic tourists. The major negative impacts of tourism
seem to be a result of indiscriminate budget tourists. Promotion and
marketing of tourism to culture- and environment-sensitive, discerning
tourists has the potentiality of bringing about an enormous change both in
terms of revenue as well as the impact of tourism to sensitive areas such as
the environment and culture of Ladakh. The domestic tourists are not that
aware of Ladakh and for the foreign tourists, security is a concern due to
terrorism in other parts of the state.
Diversifying the tourism is one major issue for Ladakh. There has been a
high emphasis on traditional trekking. Other areas associated with wilderness
and adventure such as rafting, hub tourism based on thematic trekking,
nature tourism based on biodiversity etc. have not been explored at all. The
diversification of the tourism product is essential because Ladakh may be
losing the edge it had in terms of cultural tourism, particularly with the
opening of Tibet. Also, the growing inflow of tourists in Leh city rather than in
the neighbouring places is another very important problem for this sector.
Hence, a need for spatial distribution of the tourists has become critical
without which the concentration of tourists in the Leh city might put undue
pressure on the resources in Leh city as well as the neighbouring areas.
A Ladakh specific tourism strategy is something that is missing today.
Tourism policy is a state subject and therefore the formulation and
implementation of a Ladakh-specific tourism strategy and regulations has
been impeded. The LAHDC has very little leeway in terms of formulating the
tourism policy for Ladakh. Providing the basic amenities to the tourists are
also absent in Ladakh. The proper utilisation of the funds taken from the
foreign tourists must be planned carefully so that tourism benefits the most
from it.
10

12. There is a lack of professionals for this industry, which is a real problem as
most of them are hired from outside and the money that belongs to Ladakh
filters out. In the management of tourism, we have to be very scientific and
professional, which is very important. In management of the hotels in the
private sector, the trained staff at the level of the Manager, Assistant
Manager, Receptionist, Tour Executive, and catering staff like cook and
waiters are being brought from outside places like Jammu, Delhi, Srinagar,
Mumbai, Chandigarh (including other states of country) and Nepal. As a
result, millions of rupees are being taken out of Ladakh, which would not
have happened in case the hotel industry of Ladakh would have recruited
locals in the management of tourism. Lack of professional human resources
at the local level is a serious threat, which is not only a growing trend of
unemployment among the local youths, but also a greatest threat in the
management of tourism industry in the private sector, maybe hotel, a
restaurant, a guest house etc.
The lack of a good database on tourism both on the supply and demand
sides of tourism, as well as the impacts and implications of tourism for the
environment, economy and culture of Ladakh. Due to the lack of a good
database, there can be very little feedback for the formulation of well-
informed policies and programmes, and anecdotal evidence becomes a
substitute for scientific data.
4. The Impact of Tourism
Ladakh had been isolated for centuries and then was suddenly thrown open to
development, including tourism. This development has brought many changes to
the previously peaceful, prosperous and largely self-reliant culture of Ladakh.
4.1 Environmental Impact
Leh is getting suffocated through intense tourist inflow, and hence the
cultural and social structure is being dismantled and strained. Hence there
is a need to guide the tourists to villages through spatial expansion as well
as increasing the spread of the tourist season in the region. This can be
accomplished through promotion of cultural tourism as well as winter
tourism in the region.
Tourism adds to the existing pressures on the infrastructure. The town
lacks a proper drainage and sewage system.
Junk food, plastic consumer goods, pollution, and toxics including DDT
and asbestos have come to the region as part of this process.
4.2 Social Impact
The social structure is such that the educated youth are not returning to
agriculture. This human resource, if developed through specific crash
courses or regular programmes, can evolve into major revenue earners for
the local populace rather than the people from plains coming and tapping
the market.
11

13. Tourism is reported to have contributed to the loss of traditional values
and the distinctiveness of the Ladakhi way of life. People have become
more materially-oriented and selfish, and the cooperative basis of the
Ladakhi way of life is gradually being lost.
Religious dances, arts and music are being commercialised and
commoditised.
Tourism has brought Ladakhis face to face with the modern world and
provided a sense of worth, of self-confidence and pride in one’s own
culture and traditions. It has taught the Ladakhis the intrinsic value of their
architecture, arts, music and crafts.
4.3 Cultural Impact
Just as dramatic as these environmental impacts have been the
psychological effects of western-style education, television and
advertising, all of which glamorse an urban consumer life-style, giving the
impression that life in the West is one of limitless wealth and leisure.
The influx of tourists has added to the impression that life in the West is
infinitely better than in Ladakh.
Tourists will often spend the same amount in a day that a whole family in a
Ladakhi village might spend in a year. As a consequence, Ladakhis,
particularly the young people, feel that their lifestyle seems poor and
backward.
Tourists, in turn, often unwittingly reinforce these feelings and insecurities.
Having no way of knowing the degree to which Ladakhis have traditionally
been self-reliant, they are often horrified to hear of daily wages as low as
five dollars, or of an absence of electricity. Generally, neither tourists nor
Ladakhis reflect on the fact that money plays a completely different role in
the West, where it is needed for basic survival.
5. Feasibility Analysis
Use of tools and frameworks is essential for properly analysing the problem from
various angles. It helps in properly planning out the implementation of various
schemes.
12

14. SWOT Analysis: Vertical-wise
5.1 Adventure Tourism
Strength Weakness
The difficult Himalayan treks are a The amenities on the trek routes
trekker’s delight. are lacking.
Both long as well as short treks are Treks are reducing in number due
available, giving a choice to the to development.
trekker. No government body monitoring the
Other adventure activities like river trek routes, safety an issue.
rafting and mountain climbing also
available.
The treks pass through villages that
are adequately spaced.
Opportunity Threat
Discovery of new trek routes. Motorable roads along the treks
Use of motor able roads for Indian (e.g. Likir trek, Rumbak trek (under
tourists to be developed as safaris. construction)).
Other sports like Para-gliding, sand The solid waste mismanagement by
skiing etc. can be explored as an the tour leaders or the trekkers.
option.
Recommendations
Enabling body responsible for discovery and maintenance of new trek routes.
Camping site development allowances to the villages.
Implementation of home-stay concept on the trek route villages.
Selling of treks as a combination of adventure and cultural experience
through extended stays at the en-route villages.
5.2 Cultural Tourism
Strength Weakness
De-congestion of Leh city during the No amenities in the villages for the
tourist season. tourists.
Income generation at the village Accessibility is an issue with
level. respect to the villages
Supplementary products can be No drive to earn more especially in
sold through this concept. the villages.
The basic nature of the people is
very hospitable.
Opportunity Threat
Encouraging entrepreneurs for Spoiling of rustic atmosphere in
13

15. development of guesthouses in the villages if too few a villages are
villages. targeted.
Agri-tourism on lines of ‘farm The tourists are not well
project’ initiated by an NGO in informed about the cultural tourism.
Ladakh.
Participation by the tourists in other
chores as well as handicraft work.
Recommendations
Government to identify two levels of tourism opportunities
o Villages near to Leh city (e.g. Phyang, Likir, Shey, Thiksey) - for specific
cultural tourism promotion in form of pilot projects.
o Villages that fall on the trek routes (e.g. Stok, Spituk, Rumbak) - for
adventure tourists who want to experience the culture of Ladakh.
JKTDC to continue the subsidies, along with it special incentives for the
identified locations need to be provided.
Promotion of cultural tourism through customer awareness, promotion of the
concept by making it a USP.
5.3 Edu-tourism
Strength Weakness
The ideal location, which is very The communication connectivity is
quiet and away from the city life. poor.
The beautiful and ancient culture. The infrastructure in Ladakh is not
in line with the needs of business
executives.
Opportunity Threat
Development of hotels suitable for High competition from other places
such type of conferences, meeting like Himachal and Uttaranchal
Recommendations
The development of locations for holding such conferences.
Promotion of such tours in association with corporate houses (already visiting
Ladakh) and travel agents (arranging these tours and programs).
5.4 Spiritual tourism
Strength Weakness
The ‘little Tibet’, which sustains the The huge crowd puller is a festival
Buddhist roots in the country. that puts a lot of pressure for a
The monastic view and culture short period of time.
attracts a lot of foreign as well as
domestic tourists.
The Sindhu Darshan festival a
major attraction.
14

16. Opportunity Threat
Clubbing this type of tourism with The fest culture requires sustained
the sight-seeing tourism, making it a attention from the JKTDC for active
package, which only Ladakh can promotion.
offer. The monastic culture is being
Opening up of Mansarover route via promoted at more accessible
Ladakh to promote enroute tourism. locations like Mclodganj and
Dharmashala.
Recommendations
Continuous pressure on government for active dialogue on opening
Mansarover route with China.
Making Sindhu darshan and only ‘Aryan’ village Dha a promotion point for
more tourists.
Ensure that the tourists get a package tour in their consideration set.
5.5 Winter tourism
Strength Weakness
Winter that is not common in plains The infrastructure requirements like
and even in lower Himalayas power and water are lacking.
(Himachal and Uttaranchal). No hotels have facilities or any kind
Winter sports like skiing, skating of govt. incentives to be open
and ice hockey. during winters.
Zanskar trek, a world’s only trek on
frozen river.
Opportunity Threat
Adventurous Indian tourists hold a The foreign tourists have other
potential. avenues like countries in northern
Europe and Canada.
Indian tourists are not very risk
taking.
Recommendations
Development activities along the Zanskar trek for the foreign tourists.
Government to provide support to few hotels to remain open for the tourists in
the winter season through providing Power using renewable resources.
Hence, after analysing the opportunities, we see that those which hold
potential for further development, are:
Adventure tourism
Cultural tourism
Spiritual tourism
15

17. 6. Feasibility plan for Cultural tourism
6.1 The Model
The aim of the proposed model is the spatial expansion of the tourism sector
from Leh in Ladakh. The basic premise of the Cultural tourism is to develop
infrastructure in the villages so that the local people can transform their homes to
accommodate tourist, thereby increasing the spatial distribution of the revenues
to the interior of Ladakh.
6.2 The stake holders
LAHDC J&K Tourism
Local village cooperatives Travel agents
Entrepreneurs Tour operators
6.3 The Proposed Structure for Home-stays network
Training and setup agency
Village Coop. Society Village Home
Independent travel agencies
The characteristics of the model are:
The proposed model will have a body, which will be the village cooperative
society. Its responsibilities involve:
o The responsibility of tourism in that particular village.
o Act as an interface between village and the independent travel
agencies.
o It can also work with independent training and setup agencies,
which will help in the customisation of homes to suit the tourists’
requirements and also help in training the villagers in the required
skills and etiquettes.
The cooperative society will thus work as the central agency and will be
responsible for the implementation of the home stay concept in its village or
purview of villages.
The homes in a village will be members of this society.
16

18. Tourists will reach the villages either directly or through independent travel
agencies.
The independent travel agencies will be motivated to sell the village as
another option in their package of options to the tourist.
6.4 Financial Analysis of Home-stays
Under this scheme, the investment requirements per village are taken into
consideration, which includes the salary of a Programme Manager who will
coordinate the home-stay at the village level. Various other charges are also
incorporated. The variable expenses per tourist are taken which include
commission to transporters; permit charges, laundry and food charges. The
investment details per village include training charges and costs associated with
providing facilities in each home to support home-stay. The fixed costs
associated with this are sales and marketing costs, preparation and distribution
of brochures, communication and entertainment charges. Refer Annexure 7 for
detailed workings
We worked out a financial analysis of providing home-stays along all trekking
routes, which will give a boost to the local development and will decrease the
concentration of tourism income in the Leh city.
6.5 Project highlights
Parameters of the Model Analysis Data
Number of villages covered initially 23
Number of villages where it can be 33 (covering all trekking routes)
extended in future
Number of households covered 8 per cluster
Capacity utilisation (assuming a 43.69%
season of 90 days)
Minimum rate of return (YOY) 31%
Approximate cash profit per home Rs 37,605/-
Initial investment required Rs 3,28,000
Payback period 1 year
7. Branding
7.1 Aim of the Branding Strategy
Before going in for a branding strategy, it is very important to identify and list the
objective of the process so that it becomes a benchmark for evaluating the
outcomes of the process and also maintains focus. The aim of branding Ladakh
will be to:
15

19. Project the true image of Ladakh to the world - so that the different
sources of information carry more or less similar information with its own
added touch and the tourist is not misguided.
Communicate and educate the world what Ladakh has in store for the
tourists arriving here.
Provide a structure for the fragmented tourism industry so that it can be
monitored and flourish.
Develop infrastructure around the core concept so that the issues for the
target market are addressed properly; and
Set out a proper policy framework that the Government could formulate
and implement to help the strategies.
7.2 The Concept of Branding
The process of branding has to be done in phases in a planned and systematic
way. The first step in this process will be setting up of a separate body that will
handle this entire process of promoting Ladakh to the world. This body can be
named as the “Ladakh Tourism Development Board” (LTDB), which will be an
independent organisation under the auspices of LAHDC and J&K tourism. An
experienced corporate professional from outside Ladakh, who has done such
exercises before or has some kind of exposure to this field, can head this body.
The rest of the members of the Board will be Ladakhis from different sectors of
the tourism industry like the hotels, guest houses, tour operators, representatives
from the villages that organize home-stays etc..
The primary responsibility of the Board will be to draw up a plan for promoting
Ladakh, recommending the measures to fulfil the demand to the J&K tourism and
monitoring the type of tourists and there requirements. This requires a
professional touch hence a person with experience would be of immense help.
We propose that the entire branding programme be called:
“LADAKH: THE HIMALAYAN GIFT TO INDIA”
The unique cold desert, valley full of pleasant nature and the warm people
that beats the coolest season and the monarchies touching the sky with
solemn grace of Lord Buddha - that's Ladakh, our place of the "Lost
horizon".
7.3 Why do we need to brand Ladakh?
Branding is the art of setting yourself apart from everyone else in the minds of
your customer. This is the age of specialisation where being all things to all
people reduces or can even eliminate your long term success. If a visitor can
experience similar activities closer to home, why should they visit you? What do
you have that sets you apart? That makes you worth a special trip? In order to
succeed, you must "jettison the generic." Every product requires a "branding"
effort in order to successfully compete for business. In the tourism industry, this
includes states, regions, communities, hotels, resorts, and tourism attractions. It
is the culmination of everything you do that plant an image of who you are in the
16

20. minds of your customer, and what it is that sets you apart. Effective branding
programmes increase your market share, will allow you to increase revenues,
and, of course, the bottom-line. Branding is about finding your niche and
promoting it effectively so that you become “THE” destination for the market you
are working to attract. Successful branding will help you stand above the crowd,
not among the crowd, and will help you stay there. Branding should be the
cornerstone of all your marketing and product development efforts.
Every part of the great Himalayas has its very own and unique beauty, be it the
far east of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Darjeeling or the Uttaranchal with the
Char Dhams along with Rishikesh, Valley of flowers, Nainital or the other part
that is in Himachal Pradesh- Shimla- Kulu-Manali and of course the world famous
Kashmir. These are very unique and very different from each other. These places
are blessed with a variety of flora and fauna and are very green. Ladakh is one of
the very few high altitudes cold deserts of the world. The barren mountains
provide a great place for adventure sports like rock climbing, hiking etc while the
picturesque valleys provide great scenic beauty for the trekkers coupled with the
local culture which is simple yet very beautiful and is a ‘must see’ for all tourists
around the world. There is no doubt that a lot of things available here are not
available anywhere else in the world. But why are not people coming here just
like they visit other parts of the Himalayas or Rajasthan or even for the matter
Kerala? This is one of the primary reasons for the need of a proper branding
strategy that sets Ladakh apart from the rest of the tourist destinations.
7.4 The Ladakh experience
In the SWOT analysis we have identified three most promising sub-sectors,
which are:
Adventure tourism
Cultural tourism
Spiritual tourism
The branding strategy will revolve around these three areas. Just like Kerela’s
branding experience of “God’s own country”, Ladakh can build its tourism
highlighting these areas, which are very unique to this place.
Adventure tourism in Ladakh is unique for the combination of mountain desert
and the cold climate. The rock characteristics are also very different from other
places as the rain factor is not that much like other places in the Himalayas.
Cultural tourism involves staying in a typical Ladakhi household and spending
time there, getting a feel for the culture, life and food habits, which are very
unique to this place. Also, if this can be accompanied with agriculture or
Pashmina products production, wherein the visitor can make a small product by
himself/herself, it will be a whole new experience for him/her.
17

21. Ladakh is one of the important Buddhist locations in India. With innumerable
monasteries (infact each village has one), coupled with Sindhu Darshan started
in the early 90’s, Ladakh can be developed further into a spiritual destination.
The combination of these three together can be put in a package and offered to
the tourists, so that the target audience for each of the sectors can identify what
they want. Also, to attract those tourists who come for the whole package and not
only the separate parts.
7.5 The Process
The branding can be separated into the demand and supply side.
Phase 1:
Demand Side:
In total, Indian tourism earned Rs.172 billion last year, out of which the majority
will be domestic tourism. Hence India itself is a vast market open to be tapped by
Ladakh. Thus,in the first phase, the Board should consider the domestic market
and plan accordingly.
The steps that can be taken:
The first work of the Board will be to take up the three priority sub-sectors
and package them into one brand identity. This will be the representation
of true Ladakh and the base for any further work that the Board will
embark on.
Create a separate identity sub-stall within the J & K tourism stall so that
people come to know of Ladakh better. Also, at major tourist spots like
railway stations, airports, multiplexes etc. the Board can set up permanent
stalls. To boost tourism, Ladakh needs to carve its own niche, which is
separate from that of J&K, and have to educate people that even though it
is part of the same state as Kashmir it is very different in terms of scenic
beauty, food and even culture.
With the branding document in hand, the Board (through the J & K
Tourism) can approach the national media and start advertising. It can
also have a brand ambassador in place promoting Ladakh. For this the
Board will need to have a professional advertising agency that will take
care of these issues.
Organise Ladakh festival outside Ladakh in small-scale, highlighting the
major aspects of the place.
Bringing all the hoteliers, guesthouse owners, tour operators and others
under one roof.
Design a good informative and user-friendly website. Create brochures
and send it free of cost to people who visit the website and ask for it.
J&K tourism should help Ladakh in creating its own niche be that by
providing sub-stall or even providing more information to the tourists
through them.
18

22. Setting up an all India toll free phone number to respond queries can be
also done.
Thus the first phase in the demand side will include getting the concept in place
and then using it as a tool to educate the domestic tourists to begin with.
Supply Side:
While doing all this to simulate the demand for Ladakh, it is also important to
have the supply part of tourism in place. This will include:
Trying to increase the number flights to and fro Ladakh and to various
parts of the country.
Setting up of professional training institutes like the Hotel Management
School, mountaineering training centre and to start a curriculum in
schools, which are based on tourism so that the Ladakhi youth becomes
more inclined towards this sector.
Providing basic amenities for the tourists in Ladakh so that there stay
becomes more comfortable.
Making motor able roads however maintaining the trekking routes or
identifying newer routes.
Giving the villages more incentives so that the home stays can be
encouraged for the domestic tourists as well
On the supply side the phase1 will be based on a long-term vision. It has to
address the human resource problem that Ladakh faces during the tourist
seasons. Also the infrastructure becomes one of the core points.
Phase 2
While in the first phase the domestic tourists were targeted the second phase
may be devoted to the foreign tourists keeping the campaign for the domestic
tourists in place.
Demand side:
The steps will be very similar to the ones taken for the domestic tourism only it
will be done in an international scale.
Apart from the tourism fairs, the board can invite international tourism
majors and also media like “National Geographic”, “Discovery” to give a
more realistic coverage of the place. It can also participate in the rankings
and get to know the criterion for making an international tourist
destination.
Since less of Americans are coming to Ladakh special promotional
activities can be organized in the US and the neighbouring countries
mostly to communicate them what Ladakh has in store for them.
Even places like China which has very similar culture can be targeted.
Information flow has to be made easier and free flowing, so that the
foreign tourists get to know anything that they want to at the click of a
mouse.
Supply side:
19

23. The same policies have to be followed with a more emphasis on
developing trekking routes and cultural tourism. Newer adventure sports
like sand skiing, gliding, Para sailing can also be incorporated.
Better policies for waste management and decentralized tourism (away
from Leh city par see) have to be formulated.
Phase 3
It’s the consolidation and maintenance phase wherein focus should be diverted
towards consolidation and maintenance of the tourism industry as a whole going
in for innovations and constantly keeping up with the changing industry demands
without shifting from the core focus.
8. Conclusion
The present state of tourism development as well as the implications of tourism
for the development, economy and culture is indicative of a number of constraints
in the development of responsible tourism in Ladakh.
In view of strategic considerations for the promotion of tourism in Ladakh, the
concerned authorities in the tourism sector should work towards a framework for
a tourism policy for Ladakh.
The long term objectives of the tourism policy should contribute to increased
generation of income and employment with a concern for equity, preservation of
Ladakhi’s environment, culture, traditions and the way of life, development of
infrastructure and linkages with the other sectors of the economy and promote
tourism as a vehicle for local development, and visitor satisfaction.
The main focus has to be responsible tourism in the case of Ladakh, which is
characterized by environmental awareness, cultural sensitivity, and strengthening
local production linkages. Policies should lead to the development of regulations
and code of conduct for travel/tour operators, trekking agencies, hotels and
lodges as well as tourists for the promotion of responsible tourism. The obligation
for responsible tourism has to lie with all the stakeholders including the tourists.
20

24. Annexure 1: Year wise Tourist Inflow in numbers
Year Sno. Foreign Indian Total
1992 1 13,580 2,438 16,018
1993 2 12,401 2,000 14,401
1994 3 14,369 2,080 16,449
1995 4 12,391 5,594 17,985
1996 5 13,036 3,537 16,573
1997 6 12,810 3,991 16,801
1998 7 15,229 6,767 21,996
2000 8 11,828 6,227 18,055
2001 9 15,439 4,260 19,699
2003 10 15,362 13,031 28,393
2004 11 21,608 13,483 35,091
Source: Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation
Annexure 2: Number of Tourist Arrivals
Foreign Domestic Total
Air 6,875 2,505 9,380
Road 5,373 980 6,353
Foreign Domestic Total
Air 73% 27% 100%
Road 85% 15% 100%
Source: ICMOD report on Tourism
Annexure 3: Nationality wise arrival of tourists
Nationality % age
French 15%
Italian 8%
British 7%
German 6%
American 5%
Japanese 3%
Source: CSO report on Ladakh
Annexure 4: Month wise tourist arrival
Month Foreign Domestic Total
January 0.2 0.1
February 0.3 0.2
March 0.4 0.4 0.4
April 1.1 1.3 1.1
May 2 3.4 2.4
June 10.7 18.2 12.3
I

25. July 41.9 23.6 37.9
August 33.6 34.3 33.8
September 9.8 18.8 11.8
October
November
December
Total 100 100 100
Source: ICMOD report on Tourism
Annexure 5: Tourist Arrival Projections
Indian Foreign
Sight Sight Adventure
Year Seeing Adventure Adventure Seeing +Cultural Total
1992 2194 244 6790 2716 4074 16018
1993 1800 200 6201 2480 3720 14401
1994 1872 208 7185 2874 4311 16449
1995 5035 559 6196 2478 3717 17985
1996 3183 354 6518 2607 3911 16573
1997 3592 399 6405 2562 3843 16801
1998 6090 677 7615 3046 4569 21996
2000 5604 623 5914 2366 3548 18055
2001 3834 426 7720 3088 4632 19699
2003 11728 1303 7681 3072 4609 28393
2004 12135 1348 10804 4322 6482 35091
2005 10476 1164 11912 4765 7147 35464
2006 11349 1261 12905 5162 7743 38420
2007 12222 1358 13897 5559 8338 41375
2008 13095 1455 14890 5956 8934 44330
2009 13968 1552 15883 6353 9530 47286
2010 14841 1649 16875 6750 10125 50241
2011 15714 1746 17868 7147 10721 53196
2012 16587 1843 18861 7544 11316 56152
2013 17460 1940 19853 7941 11912 59107
2014 18333 2037 20846 8338 12508 62063
2015 19207 2134 21839 8735 13103 65018
2016 20080 2231 22831 9133 13699 67973
2017 20953 2328 23824 9530 14294 70929
2018 21826 2425 24817 9927 14890 73884
2019 22699 2522 25809 10324 15486 76839
2020 23572 2619 26802 10721 16081 79795
Source: Analysis done based on data collected from Field Survey
II

26. Annexure 6: Tourist Expenditure Projections
Year Indian (in Rs. Mn) Foreign (in Rs. Mn) Total
Sight Sight Adventure projections
Seeing Adventure Adventure Seeing + Cultural (in Rs. Mn)
2003 137.5 7.2 167 31.8 80.4 424
2004 149.3 7.85 246.7 47 118.7 569
2005 135.4 7.1 285.6 54.5 137.5 620
2006 154 8.1 324.9 61.9 156.4 705
2007 174.2 9.1 367.4 70.1 176.8 797
2008 196 10.3 413 78.8 198.9 897
2009 219.5 11.5 462.9 88.3 222.8 1,005
2010 244.85 12.9 516.5 98.5 248.6 1,121
2011 272.2 14.3 574.2 109.5 276.4 1,246
2012 301.7 15.9 636.4 121.4 306.3 1,381
2013 333.5 17.5 703.4 134.2 338.6 1,527
2014 367.6 19.3 775.5 147.9 373.3 1,683
2015 404.4 21.3 853 162.7 410.6 1,852
2016 443.9 23.4 936.4 178.6 450.7 2,033
2017 486.4 25.6 1,026 195.7 493.8 2,227
2018 532 27.9 1,122 214.1 540.2 2,436
2019 580 30.5 1,225 233.8 589.8 2,660
2020 633 33.3 1,336 254.9 643.2 2,901
%age
share 22% 1% 46% 9% 22% 100%
Source: Analysis done based on data collected from Field Survey
Annexure 7: Financial Analysis of Cultural tourism
Variable Expenses per Tourist
YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5
Commission to Transporters 100.00 105.00 110.25 115.76 121.55
Permit Charges 50.00 52.50 55.13 57.88 60.78
Laundry Charges
Detergent 2.50 2.63 2.76 2.89 3.04
Water 4.00 4.20 4.41 4.63 4.86
Food Charges - - - -
Salt 5.00 5.25 5.51 5.79 6.08
Sugar 5.00 5.25 5.51 5.79 6.08
Vegetables 10.00 10.50 11.03 11.58 12.16
Oil 10.00 10.50 11.03 11.58 12.16
Wheat 4.00 4.20 4.41 4.63 4.86
Rice 4.00 4.20 4.41 4.63 4.86
Gas 4.00 4.20 4.41 4.63 4.86
Tea 5.00 5.25 5.51 5.79 6.08
Milk 3.00 3.15 3.31 3.47 3.65
206.50 216.83 223.33 230.03 236.93
III

27. Variable Expenses per village
Unit
Detail Nos Cost Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Salary
Program
Manager 1 4000 48,000 50,400 52,920 55,566 58,344
Communicat
ion charges 120 30 3,600 3,780 3,969 4,167 4,375
Stationary - - - - -
Feed back
forms,
Instruction 1 300 300 315 330 347 364
Electricity 1 1500 1,500 1,575 1,653 1,736 1,823
Travelling
charges 1 3000 3,000 3,150 3,307 3,472 3,646
56,400 59,220 60,996 62,826 64,711
Fixed Expenses for the project
Unit
Particulars Details Nos Cost Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Sales and
Marketing-
6months 2 4,000 48,000 50,400 52,920 55,566 58,344
Selling Preparation of
Expenses brochures 500 5 2,500 2,625 2,756 2,894 3,038
Distribution of
brochures 1 1,000 1,000 1,050 1,102 1,157 1,215
Other
Advertisements 1 6,000 6,000 6,300 6,615 6,945 7,293
Telephone
charges 12 200 2,400 2,520 2,646 2,778 2,917
Travelling
charges 1 15,000 15,000 15,750 16,537 17,364 18,232
Entertainment
expenses 1 3,000 3,000 3,150 3,307 3,472 3,646
Others 1 15,000 15,000 15,750 16,537 17,364 18,232
TOTAL 92,900 97,545 102,422 107,543 112,920
IV

28. Investment per village
Particulars Total Cost REPL COST AFTER 4
Training Charges YEARS
Trainer fees 1,000
Food & Beverages 500
Stationary 500
Books for perusal 600
Maps of villages 200
Equipment
Trekking 5,000 5,000
Camping 5,000 5,000
12,800 10,000
Investment per home
Particulars Nos Unit Cost Total Cost REPL COST AFTER 4
YEARS
Mugs 2 20 40
Shoe rack 1 100 100 40
Bucket 2 60 120
Racks and Hangars 1+4 200 120
Chairs 2 120 240
Solar bulbs 2 200 400 240
Pillows 2 150 300 400
Mattresses 2 400 800
Curtains 2 500 1,000
Blankets 4 400 1,600
Cooking Vessels 1,200
Bed sheets 4 200 800 500
Beds 2 1000 2,000 800
Total 8,800 2100
Source: Analysis done based on data collected from Field Survey
V