E-Paper
Visitor footfall in Ladakh surges 50% in 8 months
The UT recorded 4.05 lakh tourist arrivals between Jan and Aug this year, up from 2.69 lakh during the corresponding period last year
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Ladakh’s tourism boom continued its upward trend in 2026, with 4,05,085 tourists visiting the Union Territory between January 1 and August 31, already 20% higher than the 3,35,872 visitors recorded during the entire year 2025.
The eight-month tally is also nearly 51% higher than the 2,69,390 tourists who visited Ladakh during the corresponding period last year, with four months of 2026 still to go.
Tourist footfall in August also rose sharply, with 74,753 visitors compared to 45,201 in the same month last year, a jump of 65.38%.
The growth has been recorded across both domestic and foreign tourist segments. Ladakh received 3,71,739 domestic tourists and 33,346 foreign tourists in the first eight months of 2026, compared with 2,44,308 and 25,082, respectively, during the corresponding period in 2025.
August also witnessed the highest foreign tourist footfall recorded so far this year, with 10,075 overseas visitors, up from 8,148 recorded in August 2025.
Lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena attributed the growth to the Centre’s push for infrastructure development in Ladakh as well as the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to citizens to visit tourist places in India and promote domestic tourism.
“The fact that Ladakh has already crossed its entire 2025 tourist footfall, in just eight months of this year, is a very encouraging sign. Our focus, however, is not merely on increasing tourist numbers, but on building a sustainable, responsible and year-round tourism economy that benefits our people,” said Saxena.
He said festivals, sporting events and cultural programmes are helping us expand the tourism calendar beyond the traditional summer season and bringing visitors to Ladakh during the off-seasons.
This creates more sustained livelihood opportunities for our youth, entrepreneurs, homestays, artisans, transporters and local communities, he said.
The sustained growth in tourist arrivals is also being supported by the administration’s efforts to promote events and festivals as instruments of tourism development, particularly beyond the traditional peak summer season.
In the month of August, major festivals like the Changthang Nomadic Festival, the first-ever Black-necked Crane Festival, the Suru Summer Festival and the Ladakh Book Festival added new attractions to Ladakh’s tourism calendar, and attracted a large number of tourists.
The first edition of the Black-Necked Crane Festival alone saw the participation of more than 10,000 people from India and abroad. These festivals showcase the Ladakh region’s unique culture, nomadic traditions, wildlife and natural heritage.
Ladakh’s tourism calendar remains active in September as well, with a series of major events lined up, including Ladakh Bike Week, Ladakh Festival, Zanskar Festival, and the Ladakh Marathon.
The marathon, in particular, attracts runners from across the country and beyond, with many participants travelling to Ladakh with their families, thereby generating wider benefits for hotels, homestays, restaurants, transport operators, guides, local businesses and other tourism-related services.
The tourism growth assumes greater significance and coincides with a major and rapid transformation in Ladakh’s connectivity infrastructure since the formation of the Union Territory. Nearly 55% of the total tourists visiting Ladakh arrive by road, with nearly 36% using the Kashmir route, while 19% arrive via the Manali route.
The total road network in Ladakh has increased from 1,799 km in 2019 to over 4,200 km in 2026, while the number of bridges has increased from 19 to 72.
The period of seasonal disruption on key routes has also reduced substantially. Zoji La, the gateway to Ladakh from Kashmir, which earlier remained closed for around 127 days annually, now remains closed for only 16 days. Similarly, the annual closure of the Kargil–Zanskar Road has declined from 154 days to 11 days, significantly improving near year-round connectivity for tourists.
The number of homestays has increased from 128 in 2019 to 2,275 in 2026, creating new livelihood opportunities for local households.
