Shillong, May 16: Hotel and other industries associated with the tourism are facing massive cancellations these days owing to GoFirst airlines crisis as well as frequent closure of Srinagar-Leh National Highway.
The hot desert region’s prime travel months are May, June, and July. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, many foreign visitors chose not to travel to Ladakh after 2020 till now, yet the UT saw more than five lakh tourists last year, primarily domestic ones.
In the Leh district, where most tourists stay, there are more than 17,000 beds in hotels, guesthouses, and homestays. The tourism industries in the Kargil and Leh regions have also been damaged by the frequent avalanches and landslides on the Srinagar-Leh highway.
Since May 3, there have been 45%–50% booking cancellations, according to PT Kunzang, head of the Ladakh Tourist Trade Alliance, the umbrella of organisations for hotels, restaurants, taxis, and other businesses. “Those connected to the tourism sector only recently recovered their financial stability after two years of restrictions. They are once again having trouble as a result of the Go First situation, which caused the cancellation of all eight of the company’s flights between Leh and Mumbai and Delhi” he said.
The cost of airline tickets to UT from all cities increased shortly following the Go First crisis.
Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the Ladakh MP, has also received a memorandum from hotel and taxi operators pleading with him to speak with the minister of civil aviation to allow other aircraft to take Go First’s time slot.
5.30 lakh people visited Leh last year, according to Skarma Tsering Dehlex, head of the All Ladakh Hotel & Guest House Association. “Only around 35,000 tourists have come this year, which is a relatively small number. We anticipate the number to reach 2.50 lakh by the end of the season, even if the government is able to permit regular traffic on the highways, he said.
The average ticket now costs between Rs 25,000 and Rs 28,000, which is out of reach for the majority of tourists. The primary cause of this is tourists’ unease.
