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

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.

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Executive Summary

these few decades there has been a shift in the employment pattern in Ladakh

easures are not taken to deal with developing the tourism sector and

e have tried to give a very realistic and relevant study of the Ladakh Tourism

brand building programme for Ladakh called “Ladakh: The Himalayan gift to dia” gives an overall view of the branding strategy that Ladakh needs to

t should target only quality tourists and not lead to the choking of adakh. Taking care of supply-side of industry can prevent this predicament; a

detailed plan has been laid out ding strategy. The cultural tourism busines nted in this report is a step towards making Ladakh a pla t’s dream. Through this plan we aim to increase th dustry within Ladakh, which has until now The plan envisages evelopment of village clusters along the trek routes, which shall serve as the estination for the adventure, cultural tourist segment.

e hope that the work we have done will help in the overall development

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. Inwherein 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 mproperly channelising these efforts, it would not be long before a unique place like Ladakh will be lost. The Outcomes of the Project WIndustry 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. AInproject itself as not just another tourist destination. Moreover, any kind of branding efforL

as a part of our bran

s plan that we have presece that is truly a touris

e spatial spread of the tourism inbeen concentrated in Leh city.

dd Wprocess of a region as beautiful and untouched as Ladakh.

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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.

e (a specialist in adventure tours)

roprietor, Overland tourism (a specialist in cultural tours)

Proprietor, Adventure Experienc

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

P

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

Table of Content . Tourism Sector................................................................................................5

tatus .............................................................................................5 ..................................................6

.............................................................................7 ...........................................................................7 ...........................................................................7 ector.................................................................8

ism sector .....................................................................8 .......................................................................................9

............................................................................................10 ..................................11 ..................................11

4.2 Social Impact.............................................................................................11 l Impact ..........................................................................................12 analysis .......................................................................................12

.............................................................13 ...................13 ...................14

......................................................14 ...................................................15 ...................................................16

......................................................................16 .....................16 .....................16

...............................15

of the Branding Strategy.....................................................................15 ........................................................16 ........................................................16

.............................................................17 7.5 The Process ..............................................................................................18

. 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

11.1 Current S1.2 The Vision 2025 as envisioned by LAHDC1.3 The Project .....................

2. The Sector ............................2.1 The market potential.........2.2 The Demographics of the S2.3 Verticals in the tour2.4 The Target Market

3. The Challenge ...4. The Impact of Tourism ...............................................

4.1 Environmental Impact..............................................

4.3 Cultura5. Feasibility

5.1 Adventure Tourism .....................5.2 Cultural Tourism .....................................................................5.3 Edu-tourism............................................................................5.4 Religious tourism.................................5.5 Winter tourism ........................................

6. Feasibility plan for Cultural tourism.........6.1 The Model ...........................6.2 The stake holders.................................................................6.3 The Proposed Structure for Home stays network.................6.4 Financial Analysis of Home Stays ..............................6.5 Project highlights .......................................................................................15

7. Branding ........................................................................................................15 7.1 Aim7.2 The Concept of Branding ..................7.3 Why do we need to brand Ladakh?...7.4 The Ladakh experience................

8

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1. Tourism Sector

1.Th

grgrrere

toevJune to September).

ThfroantoEu

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

1 Current Status e 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 own from 527 to 35091 arrivals in 2004, in volume terms (Annexure 1) and this owth has not been steady. The first decade saw somewhat steady growth, but mained erratic in the early eighties. In the second decade, the tourist arrivals ached 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

urist figures have seen a real increase with the last year witnessing the highest er tourist turnout in Ladakh, touching a figure of 35,000 in just 4 months (from

e overwhelming proportion of foreign tourist arrivals in Ladakh has come down m 84% in 1992 to 62% in 2004. The number of domestic tourist arrivals is on increase, which is a positive sign for this sector. The total number of foreign urist arrivals has seen a significant increase in the year 2004 over 2003, with ropeans 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.

5

numbers from thesecountries contribute

countries. From the table it is evident that eight 50% of the foreign tourists coming to Ladakh. Since

the majority of the publicity takes place through word of mouth, hence rt and satisfaction of these tourists is likely to ensure an

ironmental Impact Assessment Study to ascertain the carrying

s

infrastructure to villages.

ordination in Infrastructure development

ensuring comfoincrease 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 Env

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 toileto Use the above as Ladakh’ s USP (Unique Selling Point)

Community Based Tourism

o Decentralise tourismo Promote community based rural tourism o Let Ladakh be known for a different –’People to People’ tourism. o Avoid 5-star multinational chains. o Coo 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

n Changthang

e Project

AHDC directly while some with. We have concentrated on those parts of the

lace and tried to formulate proper strategy for those.

Our work Studying the impact of the tourism sector on the local environment Est Analys cals A b A b

And all th al impacts in mind so that they do not ham

2. The S

2.1 The MThe tourism 2003. By year 2020, at a nominal % in the number of nnexure 6. In the s ier earns revenue of Rs 1.5-2.0 Mn arns revenue of Rs. 2.0 Mn with a tourism a short period but highly profitable n groups increasing by the day. However, and vbes government policy eve

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 io 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 ThThe Vision 2025 as envisioned by the LAHDC is very broad and talks of variousaspects, some of which are under the purview of the Lneed a concrete plan to startVision, which do not have an implementation plan in pa

encompasses:

imating the market potential of the tourism sector ing the feasibility of each of the verti

usiness plan for the community-based tourism rand building strategy for Ladakh ese are done keeping the environment

per the harmony that man shares with nature in Ladakh.

ector

arket Potential industry is a Rs. 420 Mn business as of year

annual inflation of 5% and average yearly increment of 8to generate Rs. 3 billion, A tourists, the industry is expected

hort period of 4 months, on average, an hotel operator e with a profit of 50%. A typical tour

profit percentage of 40%. This makesgbusiness, especially with the forei

the government, which has guesthouses in most of the tourist places ofit of Rs. 20,000/-. This shows that this business is illages, earns a paltry pr

t left to the private initiatives in the state, which has been the r since.

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2.2 The DThe stakeh Gue T

Coo Jam oration Ret

Hotels and te seventies or early eighties once the region was opened in 1974. The hotels are managed by

ral Government policy, no outsider le of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) are allowed to buy land in this

r corporates to enter the state and set up big hotel hains which cater to the up-market niche audience, which then becomes a lost

The people. However, all the guides and other support sta urist destinations - the rea ple do not qualify for the necessary

e tourism sector Tourism could be divided into various ‘verticals’ along which we could identify the

the verticals along with a definition:

t a far of location, which offers a change and relief from the

emographics of the Sector olders in the sector are: st house owners

ou Taxi operators

r operators

ks, guides and support staff mu & Kashmir tourism development corp

ail

Guesthouses: Most of these were started during the la

the Ladakhis themselves. Due to the Centother than the peopstate, 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 biggecopportunity for Ladakh.

tour operators and taxi operators are also the local se stakeholders have to employ people like cooks, ff that come from places like Nepal, Goa and other toson being that most of the Ladakh peo

skills for these jobs, hence people from outside perform these jobs. Thus the money flows outside Ladakh through these channels.

2.3 Verticals in th

opportunities; listed below are 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 a

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normal stressful life and helps in better assimilation of learning and idea generation.

ligious places or fests; in the context rs a place where Buddhists and others find

the introduction of Sindhu darshan this has provoked tourists to come to Ladakh.

es treatment through the use of local knowledge and t springs. Both the resources are amply

ral high altitude flora na, which have medicinal properties.

Winter tourism: Involves travelling in the extended period of tourism to

g tourists (12%) o Cultural and Adventure tourists (18%)

o Sight seeing tourists (9%) Cultural and Adventure tourists (22%)

etourismbookintourists, who stay for long periods of tias for the

Spiritual tourism: Involves visits to reof Ladakh’s monasteries, offetheir roots. Also, with a lot of domestic

Health tourism: Involvmaterials like natural herbs or hoavailable in Ladakh in the form of Amchis and natuand fau

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 seein

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 Indian tourists (23%) o Sight seeing tourists (22%) o Adventure tourists (1%)

H nce, the majority of revenue generated for the sector is through the adventure

by the foreign tourists who generally come in groups of 4-20 with gs through the travel agents. This is followed by cultural and adventure

me and are involved in the both adventure well as cultural experience. This is the type of the tourists who hold potential

future of the tourism in Ladakh.

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3. The Challenge Theuniquehospitto s Se

of

Thsoplabo cus:

very short tourist season in Ladakh

seem to be a result of indis minate budget tourists. Promotion and marketing of tourism to culture- and environment-sensitive, discerning tourist n enormous change both in terms of revenue as well as the impact of tourism to sensitive areas such as the he domestic tourists are not that aware of Ladakh and for the foreign tourists, security is a concern due to

high emphasis on traditional trekking. Other areas associated with wilderness and a ism based on thematic trekking, nature tourism based on biodiversity etdivers ial because Ladakh may be losing the edge it had in terms of cultural tourism, particularly with the openin flow of tourists in Leh city rather than in the ne er very important problem for this sector.

ry 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.

Himalayas in Ladakh are very different from its other parts and have a very set of attributes and features. The people here are very honest and

able. However, tourism has not been able to develop full throttle here due ome inherent but surpassable constraints. Here are some of the glaring ones:

asonality and accessibility are one of the very important issues in front 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.

us, development of winter tourism gets a major blow. Also, inside Ladakh, me parts are not accessible throughout the year: e.g. reaching remote ces like Koyoul, where there is no motor able road in spite of being a rder area with China. This brings two issues in fo

• Increase the • 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

cri

s has the potentiality of bringing about a

environment and culture of Ladakh. T

terrori . Diversifying the tourism is one major issue for Ladakh. There has been a

sm in other parts of the state

dventure such as rafting, hub tourc. have not been explored at all. The

ification of the tourism product is essent

g of Tibet. Also, the growing inighbouring places is anoth

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 ve

10

There is a lack of professionals for this industry, which is a real problem as d from outside and the money that belongs to Ladakh

pply and demand sides t of tourism for the

4. TLaddev velopment has brought many changes to

4.1

4.2

cal populace rather than the people from plains coming and tapping the market.

most of them are hirefilters 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 la ck of a good database on tourism both on the su

of ourism, as well as the impacts and implicationsenvironment, 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.

he Impact of Tourism akh had been isolated for centuries and then was suddenly thrown open to elopment, including tourism. This de

the previously peaceful, prosperous and largely self-reliant culture of Ladakh.

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.

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 lo

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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.

Cultural Impact Just as dramatic as these environmental impacts have been the

psychological effects of

4.3

end in a year. As a consequence, Ladakhis, particularly the young people, feel that their lifestyle seems poor and

gly reinforce these feelings and insecurities.

nor Ladakhis reflect on the fact that money plays a completely different role in

ded for basic survival.

5. FeUse ofvariousschem

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 sp

backward. Tourists, in turn, often unwittin

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

the West, where it is nee

asibility Analysis tools and frameworks is essential for properly analysing the problem from angles. It helps in properly planning out the implementation of various es.

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SWOT

5.1

Analysis: Vertical-wise

Adventure Tourism Strength Weakness

The difficult Himalayan treks are a trekker’s delight.

Both long as well as short treks are available, giving a choice to the trekker.

Other adventure activities like river rafting and mountain climbing also available.

The treks pass through villages that are adequately spaced.

The amenities on the trek routes are lacking.

Treks are reducing in number due to development.

No government body monitoring the trek routes, safety an issue.

Opportunity Threat Discovery of new trek routes. Use of motor able roads for Indian

tourists to be developed as safaris. Other sports like Para-gliding, sand

skiing etc. can be explored as an option.

Motorable roads along the treks (e.g. Likir trek, Rumbak trek (under construction)).

The solid waste mismanagement by the tour leaders or the trekkers.

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 tourist season.

Income generation at the village level.

Supplementary products can be sold through this concept.

The basic nature of the people is very hospitable.

No amenities in the villages for the tourists.

Accessibility is an issue with respect to the villages

No drive to earn more especially in the villages.

Opportunity Threat Encouraging entrepreneurs for Spoiling of rustic atmosphere in

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development of guesthouses in villages.

Agri-tourism on lines of ‘farm project’ initiated by an NGO in Ladakh.

Participation urists in other by the tochores as well as handicraft work.

the villages if too few a villages are targeted.

The tourists are not well informed about the cultural tourism.

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 ) - for (e.g. Stok, Spituk, Rumbak

adventure tourists who want to experience the culture of Ladakh. ng with it special incentives for the JKTDC to continue the subsidies, alo

identified locations need to be provided. rism through customer awareness, promotion of the Promotion of cultural tou

concept by making it a USP.

5.3 Edu-tourism Strength Weakness

The ideal location, which is very quiet and away from the city life.

utiful and ancient culture. The bea

The communication connectivity is poor.

The infrastructure in Ladakh is not in line with the needs of business executives.

Opportunity Threat

Development of hotels suitable for such type of conferences, meeting

High competition from other places like Himachal and Uttaranchal

Recommendations nferences. The development of locations for holding such co 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 Buddhist roots in the country.

The monastic view and culture attracts a lot of foreign as well as domestic tourists.

The Sindhu Darshan festival a major attraction.

The huge crowd puller is a festival that puts a lot of pressure for a short period of time.

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Opportunity Threat this type of tourism with Clubbing

the sight-seeing tourism, making it a package, which only Ladakh can offer.

Opening up of Mansarover route via Ladakh to promote enroute tourism.

ulture requires sustained The fest ca ntion from the JKTDC for active ttepromotion.

he monastic culture is being Tpromoted at more accessible locations like Mclodganj and Dharmashala.

Recommendations Co dialogue on opening ntinuous pressure on government for active

Mansarover route with China. Ma point for king Sindhu darshan and only ‘Aryan’ village Dha a promotion

more tourists. r in their consideration set. Ensure that the tourists get a package tou

5.5 Winter tourism Strength Weakness

Winter that is not common in plains and even in lower Himalayas (Himachal and Uttaranchal).

g Winter sports like skiing, skatinand ice hockey.

Zanskar trek, a world’s only trek on frozen river.

The infrastructure requirements like power and water are lacking.

No hotels have facilities or any kind of govt. incentives to be open during winters.

Opportunity Threat Adventurous Indian tourists hold a

potential.

The foreign tourists have other 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.

ipotHence, after analysing the opportun

ential for further developmenties, we see that those which hold

t, are: Adventure tourism Cultural tourism Spiritual tourism

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6. Feasibility plan for Cultural tourism

6.1The aim of the proposed model is the s

cal accommodate tourist, thereby increasing theto the interior of Ladakh.

ders

for Home-stays network

The Model patial expansion of the tourism sector of the Cultural tourism is to develop

people can transform their homes to spatial distribution of the revenues

from Leh in Ladakh. The basic premiseinfrastructure in the villages so that the lo

6.2 The stake hol LAHDC J&K Tourism Local village cooperatives Entrepreneurs

Travel agents Tour operators

6.3 The Proposed Structure

The characteristics of the model are:

model will have a body, whic e village cooperative

in training the villagers in the required ttes.

The cooperative society will thus work as the central agency and will be r lementation of the home stay concept in its village or purview of villages. The homes in a village will be members of this society.

Village Coop. Society

Independent travel agencies

Village Home

Training and setup agency

The proposed h will be thsociety. 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’ nd also help requirements a

queskills and eti

esponsible for the imp

16

Tourists will reach the villages either directly or thagencies.

rough independent travel

ndent travel agencies will be motivated to sell the village as

ge level. Various other charges are also le expenses per tourist are taken which include rs; 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 c nd distribution f brochures, communication and entertainment charges. Refer Annexure 7 for etailed workings

utes, which will give a boost to the local development and will decrease the concentration of tourism incom

6.5 Project highlights Parameters of the Model Analysis Data

The indepeanother 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 villaincorporated. The variabcommi transportession to

osts, preparation aod

e worked out a financial analysis of providing home-stays along all trekking Wro

e in the Leh city.

Number o lly 23 f villages covered initiaNumber of villages where it can be extended in future

33 (covering all trekking routes)

Number of households covered 8 per cluster Capacity utilisation (assuming a season

43.69% 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. Bran

7.1 Aim Before goingobjective of the process so that it becomes a benchmark for evaluating the outwill

ding

of the Branding Strategy in for a branding strategy, it is very important to identify and list the

comes of the process and also maintains focus. The aim of branding Ladakh be to:

15

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

s in store for the tourists arriving here.

d tourism industry so that it can be

cess of promoting Ladakh to the world. This body can be amed as the “Ladakh Tourism Development Board” (LTDB), which will be an

to this field, can head this body. The rest of the members of the Board will be Ladakhis from different sectors of

e hotels, guest houses, tour operators, representatives from th e-stays etc..

moting f m and

ts and ments. This requires a ould be of immense help.

called:

IMALAYAN GIFT TO INDIA” ll of pleasant nature and the warm people

eason and the monarchies touching the sky with e of Lord Buddha - tha kh, our place of the "Lost

horizon".

rt of setting yourself apart from everyone else in the minds of ecialisation where being all things to all your long term success. If a visitor can

der 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

added touch and the tourist is not misguided. Communicate and educate the world what Ladakh ha

Provide a structure for the fragmentemonitored 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 pronindependent 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

the tourism industry like the villages that organize hom

The primary responsibility of the Board wLadakh, recommending the measures to

ill be to draw up a plan for proulfil the demand to the J&K touris

monitoring the type of touris there requiree wprofessional touch hence a person with

We propose that the entire branding progrexperienc

mme bea

“LADAKH: THE H valley fuThe unique cold desert,

coolest sthat beats thesolemn grac t's Lada

7.3 Why do we need to brand Ladakh? Branding is the ayour customer. This is the age of sppeople reduces or can even eliminateexperience 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 or

16

minprograand, of course, the bottom-line. Branding is about finding your niche and proare working to attract. Successful branding will help you stand above the crowd, notcorner Every n and unique beauty, be it the far Char D f flowers, Nainital or the other part that is in Himachal Pradesh- Shimla- Kulu-Manali and of course the world famous

d very different from each other. These places

Spiritual tourism T br high Adventure tourism in Ladakh is unique for the combination of mountain desert

are also very different from other

ds of your customer, and what it is that sets you apart. Effective branding mmes increase your market share, will allow you to increase revenues,

moting it effectively so that you become “THE” destination for the market you

among the crowd, and will help you stay there. Branding should be the stone of all your marketing and product development efforts.

part of the great Himalayas has its very oweast of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Darjeeling or the Uttaranchal with the

hams along with Rishikesh, Valley o

Kashmir. These are very unique anare 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

he branding strategy will revolve around these three areas. Just like Kerela’sanding experience of “God’s own country”, Ladakh can build its tourism

lighting these areas, which are very unique to this place.

and the cold climate. The rock characteristicsplaces 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

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 nly the separate parts.

oard will

sub-stall within the J & K tourism stall so that

ay stations, airports, multiplexes etc. the Board can set up permanent rism, Ladakh needs to carve its own niche, which is

at of J&K, and have to educate people that even though it e state as Kashmir it is very different in terms of scenic

beauty, food and even culture.

dakh. For this the Board will need to have a professional advertising agency that will take

Bringing all the hoteliers, guesthouse owners, tour operators and others

ion to the tourists through them.

o

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 Bembark on.

Create a separate identitypeople come to know of Ladakh better. Also, at major tourist spots like railwstalls. To boost touseparate from this part of the sam

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 La

care of these issues. Organise Ladakh festival outside Ladakh in small-scale, highlighting the

major aspects of the place.

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 informat

18

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 nd then using it as a tool to educate the domestic tourists to begin with.

urism in place. This will include: Trying to increase the number flights to and fro Ladakh and to various

untry. l Management

ools, which are based on tourism so that the Ladakhi youth becomes ned towards this sector.

so that the home stays can be estic tourists as well

On addresseason PhaWhile imay betourists DemanThe steps will be very similar to the ones will

hat Ladakh has in store for them.

Supply side:

a Supply Side: While doing all this to simulate the demand for Ladakh, it is also important to have the supply part of to

parts of the co Setting up of professional training institutes like the Hote

School, mountaineering training centre and to start a curriculum in schmore incli

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 incentivesencouraged for the dom

the supply side the phase1 will be based on a long-term vision. It has to s the human resource problem that Ladakh faces during the tourist s. Also the infrastructure becomes one of the core points.

se 2 n the first phase the domestic tourists were targeted the second phase devoted to the foreign tourists keeping the campaign for the domestic in place.

d side: taken for the domestic tourism only it

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 w

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.

19

The same policies have to be followed with a more emphasis on developing trekking routes and cultural tourism. Newer adventure sports

(away from Leh city par see) have to be formulated.

ustry as a whole going in fwithou focus.

8. CoThe prfor the development, economy and culture is indicative of a number of constraints in tIn view of strategic considerations focona touriThegenera

. he main focus has to be responsible tourism in the case of Ladakh, which is

zed by environmental awareness, cultural sensitivity, and strengthening

tourists for the promotion of responsible tourism. The obligation r responsible tourism has to lie with all the stakeholders including the tourists.

like sand skiing, gliding, Para sailing can also be incorporated. Better policies for waste management and decentralized tourism

Phase 3 It’s the consolidation and maintenance phase wherein focus should be diverted towards consolidation and maintenance of the tourism ind

or innovations and constantly keeping up with the changing industry demands t shifting from the core

nclusion esent state of tourism development as well as the implications of tourism

he development of responsible tourism in Ladakh. r the promotion of tourism in Ladakh, the

cerned authorities in the tourism sector should work towards a framework for sm policy for Ladakh.

long term objectives of the tourism policy should contribute to increased tion 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 satisfactionTcharacterilocal 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 fo

20

AnnexYear

ure 1: Year wise Tourist Inflow in numbers Sno. Foreign Indian Total

1992 1 13,580 2,438 16,0181993 2 12,401 2,000 14,4011994 3 14,369 2,080 16,4491995 4 12,391 5,594 17,9851996 5 13,036 3,537 16,5731997 6 12,810 3,991 16,8011998 7 15,229 6,767 21,9962000 8 11,828 6,227 18,0552001 9 15,439 4,260 19,6992003 10 15,362 13,031 28,3932004 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

July 41.9 23.6 37.9 August 33.6 34.3 33.8 Septem 8 ber 9.8 18.8 11.October November December Total 100 100 100

S I OD re uris

A u 5: T Arr oj Foreign

ource: CM port on To m

nnex re ourist ival Pr ections Indian

Yight

ing ven dSight Seeing

Adventure +Cultural Total ear

SSee Ad ture A venture

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 18 2607 3911 16573 3183 354 651997 05 2562 3843 16801 3592 399 641998 0 15 3046 4569 21996 609 677 762000 4 623 14 2366 3548 18055 560 592001 20 3088 4632 19699 3834 426 772003 81 3072 4609 28393 11728 1303 762004 35 04 4322 6482 35091 121 1348 1082005 76 12 4765 7147 35464 104 1164 1192006 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 87 1843 18861 7544 11316 56152 1652013 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 23 2572 2619 6802 10721 16081 79795

Source: Analysis don d f d Survey e based on ata collected rom Fiel

II

A e 6: To Exp ure P tions Yea (in n) Foreign (in Rs. Mn)

nnexur urist endit rojecr Indian Rs. M

ht

Adventure Adventure Sight

Seeing Adventure+ Cultural

Total projections (in Rs. Mn)

SigSeeing

2003 137.5 7.2 31.8 80.4 424 167 2004 149.3 7.85 .7 118.7 569 246 472005 137.5 620 135.4 7.1 285.6 54.5 2006 154 8.1 324.9 61.9 156.4 705 2007 176.8 797 174.2 9.1 367.4 70.12008 196 8 198.9 897 10.3 413 78. 2009 219.5 11.5 462.9 88 1,005 .3 222.8 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 7 .4 06.3 301. 15.9 636.4 121 3 1,381 2013 5 .2 38.6 333. 17.5 703.4 134 3 1,527 2014 6 .9 73.3 367. 19.3 775.5 147 3 1,683 2015 4 .7 10.6 404. 21.3 853 162 4 1,852 2016 9 .6 50.7 443. 23.4 936.4 178 4 2,033 2017 4 .7 93.8 486. 25.6 1,026 195 4 2,227 2018 532 .1 40.2 27.9 1,122 214 5 2,436 2019 580 .8 89.8 30.5 1,225 233 5 2,660 2020 633 .9 43.2 33.3 1,336 254 6 2,901 %age share 22% 1% 46% 9% 22% 100%

Source: Analysis d ed on d lected ld Su

Ann e 7: F ial An is of Cultural tourism

one bas ata col from Fie rvey

exur inanc alysVaria ble Expenses per Tourist YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 Comm to Tra ission nsporters 100.00 105.00 110.25 115.76 121.55 Permit Charges 50.00 52.50 55.13 57.88 60.78 Laund ry 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

Variable Expenses per village

Detail Nos Unit 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

Communication 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

Particulars Details Nos Unit 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 Expenses

Preparation of 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

Investment per village

Particulars Total Cost Training Charges

REPL COST AFTER 4 YEARS

Trainer fees 1,000 Food & Beverages 500 Stationary 500 Books for perusal 600 Maps of villages 200 Equipment Trekking 5 ,000 5,000 C pinam g 5 ,000 5,000 12,800 10,000 Investment pe ome r h Particulars Nos Unit Cost Total Cost Mugs 2 20 40

REPL COS R 4 T AFTEYEARS

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 0 30 400 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: Anal ta co uysis done based on da llected from Field S rvey

V