MOT’s vision for Ladakh

With an aim to promote Ladakh as a tourist destination for adventure, culture and responsible tourism, MoT organised a three day mega event ‘Ladakh:New start, New goals’ and unveiled ‘A Tourism vision for Ladakh’ with focus on overall development of the region.

Nisha Verma

The purpose of the event was to promote Ladakh as a tourist destination with focus on aspects of adventure, culture and responsible tourism. It was also meant to provide indigenous product knowledge to the industry stakeholders and a platform to local stakeholders for interaction with the tour operators / buyers from the rest of the country. The three days event included activities like exhibition, panel discussions, B2B meetings, technical tours, cultural evening to showcase tourism facilities and tourism products of Ladakh.

Addressing the gathering virtually, Arvind Singh, Secretary, MOT, said that Ladakh is a heaven for adventure sports. “Tourism plays a vital role in the economy of the Ladakh region. Though impacted by COVID-19, the signs of recovery have been witnessed and Ladakh is one of the prime movers of this recovery phase and the most preferred destination. Ministry of Tourism promoted Ladakh in domestic and international markets through various campaigns and initiatives such as Dekho Apna Desh wherein a dedicated webinar on Ladakh was conducted.”

During the event “A Tourism Vision for Ladakh” document was also released, which focuses on overall development of the Ladakh Region. The document envisions promoting tourism in the backdrop of sustainable ecological practices, building on local material and human resources.

The event also saw in attendance Radha Krishna Mathur, Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh, who spoke about the new tourism products in Ladakh, like winter tourism, science-based tourism etc. “The cultural and heritage tourism has enormous potential in Ladakh to offer to its visitors,” he said and spoke about the carbon neutral path being followed in Ladakh. He was happy to mention that Buddhist Chanting has been identified by the UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of Ladakh. Mathur also praised Ministry of Tourism for organising the event.

Even G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), addressed the mega-tourism event virtually. Other dignitaries present at the event included Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Member of Parliament, Ladakh; K Mehboob Ali Khan, Secretary of Tourism & Culture, UT Ladakh; G Kamala Vardhan Rao, Director General, Ministry of Tourism; and Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, MOT.

Reddy in his address said that the event is a platform that provides tour operators from other parts of the country and customers to interact with local stakeholders from Ladakh. “The Central government has also contributed Rs.23.21 Crore for Tourist Water Screen Projection Multimedia show and other tourist attractions and developing Chaukihang Vihara Project under the PRASHAD scheme. For tourism to develop in places like Ladakh, the community partnership is very important,” he added. He stressed on the overall tourism development along with creating a professional skilled workforce.

Mehboob Ali Khan mentioned, as per data, 50 percent GDP of Ladakh depends on tourism sector, this place has its own unique character. We will be hiring expert consultants for tourism policy and very soon Ladakh will have a tourism policy.