Tourism Potential and Development in Ladakh
Respected Delegates,
On behalf of LAHDC Leh and the people of Leh District, I welcome you all and express my happiness that this workshop on the theme of ‘Practicing Responsible Tourism’ is happening here in Leh at an opportune time. I would call it opportune as we at LAHDC Leh with our Hon’ble Councilors and HoDs in the lead, are currently engaged in a strategy development process aimed at streamlining our existing Development plans and programs in order to accelerate our efforts on realizing the goals of ‘Ladakh 2025’ – our vision. Deliberations of this workshop and your recommendations for putting in place Responsible Tourism Development practices would, therefore, have a direct bearing on our exercises in setting our priorities in the Tourism sector.
Tourism in Ladakh has come a long way since 1974 when Govt. of India allowed foreigners to this region. Many of us still remember interesting episodes of those early days of Tourism when we received foreign tourists with warmth and excitement but with very few facilities available. And then people started responding to this new chapter in the history of our economy – homes were converted into guest house, Taxiwalas became active and shopkeepers started stocking things of tourist needs and, with the help of an incentivisation program of the Govt., hotels and travel agencies started mushrooming, Today, Tourism is an integral part of Ladakh’s economy. Whereas the Department of Tourism in Leh played a proactive role during the early phase, several new actors have emerged on the scene now. It is hearting to see that almost 40 years down the line, tourism industry is thriving, with locals actively participating in and benefiting from the trade. However, from the point of view of LAHDC Leh, I am reminded of the fact that we are yet to evolve a coherent strategy which guides us into a future of Tourism Industry assuring sustainable and equitable distribution of its benefits without jeopardizing our environment, culture and social systems. As we know, Tourism represents an economic activity dependent upon a number of factors – mostly outside local control. Yet, it is our responsibility to ensure that we effectively manage the quantity and quality of tourist inflow without getting into environmental and social problems. It is in this context that I consider today’s workshop as crucial and expect the participants to come up with a framework for the future of tourism industry in Ladakh which helps LAHDC Leh and its plans (and the District Plan in particular) to take into account the social, cultural and economic realities of Ladakhi society while taking the full advantage of experiences elsewhere.
This workshop seems to be dvelving on a range of topics involving major stakeholders of Responsible Tourism. Apart from a high level representation of Govt. of J&K (by none other than Mr. Rigzin Jora, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism and Culture) and Govt. of India (through Mr. Khwaja, Secretary Tourism), Department of Tourism and wildlife in Leh are participating. ALTOA and LTTA, SLC, WWF, ITBP, INTACH, LIP, NIRLAC are important local actors. Moreover, we have representation from CGH Earth, M.P Eco – Tourism Board, Kanchanzongkha Conservation Committee and several consultants sharing their knowledge and experience (particularly on Best Practices) and, of courses, SOI organizing the workshop. It is, therefore, natural for me to have high expectations from this workshop. I would like to avail the remaining time available to me in drawing your attention to three suggestions to enhance the relevance of this workshop to Ladakhi situation.
1. The first point I would like to make is a reference to ‘Ladakh 2025’ – the Vision Document of Leh District. ‘Ladakh 2025’ envisages a future which ensures that tourists are connected to the unique topographical advantage and cultural heritage of Ladakh without endangering its fragile eco- system while scaling up tourism to contribute to the economic and social well being of the people of this region. The vision document suggests a set of four strategies to achieve this goal: (a). Improving infrastructures, (b). Building local capacities, (c). Expanding the Tourism Package and (d). Preserving Ladakh’s pristine beauty.
The vision document also makes certain specific suggestions for achieving these goals. It would help us if this workshop comments on the statements made by the vision document (alongwith their shortcomings, if any, from the point of view of ‘Responsible Tourism’).
2. The second point is about the need to focus on our Natural resources and Cultural resources together with our Human resources (and their perceptions, values and actions). In Ladakh, the interface between human beings and the Nature has been that of harmony with each other. Irresponsible Development in the past few decades is more to be blamed for the neglect and misuse of our natural and cultural assets. However, we are a society in transition as well. It would be a pity if instead of being a live example of our harmony with nature and within ourselves, we may have to narrate to the tourist a few nostalgic moments from what a caring society we used to be. I believe that in our social fabric, these values are very much alive, though our institutions and mechanisms may have given way to new methods of doing things. In regions like Ladakh, ‘Responsible Tourism’, therefore, needs to be built on this human resource, with technology and legislation complementing the efforts of local knowledge, institutions and their mechanisms.
3. The third point concerns the issue of ensuring sustainable and equitable benefits from Tourism. There is a general perception that tourism plays a very significant role in the economy of Leh District. How significant and for whom? we are not so sure! At present, we don’t have reliable data on how much income does Tourism bring to the local population. According to one estimate (guestimate !), Tourism represents an economy of around Rs. 60 crores per annum (with about 1500 business establishments and 4000 jobs created during the season). This means an average income of around Rs. 1.20 lacs for about 25% households in the District. If we assume that 50% of this goes to rural households, we are talking about around 2000 Households (12%) benefiting from Tourism, which is not significant.
I was recently going through the report of MLP (2010) which shows an average of 5% contribution of Tourism to the Rural Economy, as perceived by villagers. Out of 90 villages where MLP exercises were done, 59 (65%) consider Tourism as not contributing to their economy at all. Even in around 20 villages (20%) mentioning tourism as playing an important role, more than 70% households consider it as marginally contributing. In other words, more than 35 years after Tourism was introduced in Ladakh, the sector is yet to impact Livelihoods of most villages.
There are other issues to be resolved: Tourism has close links with various other sectors, particularly culture, industries, employment, wildlife and handcrafts. There is, therefore, a need to look at the presence of such linkages in the District Plan and State Plan in order to ascertain the complimentarity of sectors to one another. Tourism in Ladakh continues as an economic activity confined to 3 – 4 months of summer (the peak time of agricultural and other types of activities as well) and this inhibits ‘full involvement’ of Ladakh’s population in tourism related work. This ‘seasonality’ of Tourism sector puts an immense pressure on infrastructure, basic services (particularly health care), the eco – system and the social fabric of Ladakh (and possibly the psyche of the local population as well). There is, therefore, a need to adequately understand processes involved in tourism development and locate the sector appropriately in the overall economic framework of Ladakh and mitigate its social and environmental impacts while maximizing its benefits to more and more people within Ladakhi society.
Thanks to a vigorous campaign by J&K Tourism under the able leadership of Mr. Rigzin Jora, we had a record number of domestic tourists this year. In fact, the number of visitors (around 1.50 lacs) exceeded the local population (around 1.20 lacs). Currently, under Leh Development Authority and with the help of Tourism Ministry of GoI, a number of infrastructural projects under Destination Development and Integrated Development of Tourism Circuits are being built. Moreover, a Foodcrafts Institute (FCI) is under construction in Leh. These initiatives are expected to boost Tourism further. However, as I mentioned before, there is an urgency to develop effective strategies to take tourism to the village. In this context, we are already considering two measures, First, we would like to initiate special drives / campaigns / initiatives on matters arising from the interface between ‘Tourism, Culture and Environment’ and strengthening of ‘thematic focus’ in Tourism (atleast 10 themes appear to be relevant to tourism in Ladakh – Adventure, Pilgrimage / Religious / Spiritual, cultural, Nature, Medical, Ecological, Developmental, winter, Leisure, conference and Agricultural). Second, we would like to encourage village communities and village leadership to take their own initiatives to attract tourists. This would be done through provision of funds to PRIs and capacity building work, etc. It would help us a lot if this workshop comes up with recommendations on how to expand the benefits of Tourism to rural areas.
I thank ESOI, the organizers of this workshop, for giving me the time to share my thoughts on the theme. Lastly, I thank all participants and guests for their participation and express my hope that very useful ideas will emerge from this workshop.
Thank you,
Rigzin Spalbar
Chief Executive Councilor, LAHDC Leh.
