Mass cancellation of bookings leaves Tourism industry in distress
By Abishkar Upadhaya
Leh, May 16: The ongoing crisis in the GoFirst airlines coupled with the frequent closure of the Zojila pass, the Hotels and Hospitality sector in Ladakh is under massive stress due to disproportionate rise in the price of air ticket that has led to the mass cancellation of bookings during the peak tourist season in the cold desert region.
Pertinently, May, June and July months comprise the peak season for tourism in the cold desert region but the on-going crisis in the aviation company has left the local hospitality industry in tatters as the Hotels and Guest Houses in Ladakh have suffered over 50% booking cancelation in the first half of the May.
Talking to ‘The Earth News’ PT Kunzang, Chairman – The Ladakh Tourist Trade Alliance (LTTA) an amalgam Hotel, Guest House, Restaurant, Taxi and allied associations said that the massive hike in the air fares by the private Airlines have casted negative impact over the tourism industry in Ladakh as 90% of the Hotels, Guest Houses and Home Stays in Ladakh are either lying vacant or have partial bookings which is causing huge losses to the stakeholders who have only 3-4 months of business in the region.
“Due to the closure of GoFirst Airlines, the air traffic to Leh has declined drastically and the cost of tickets of other airlines to the UT has skyrocketed from across the country. Meanwhile, frequent avalanches and landslides on the Zojila axis have also impacted tourism in both Kargil and Leh districts” he added.
Rinchen Tampel, General Secretary Leh Taxi Association informed ‘The Earth News’ that in 2022, Ladakh had a decent tourist season after two years of Covid restrictions as over 5 lac tourists visited and it was anticipated that around 4-5 lac people will visit Ladakh this year but the sudden closure of GoFirst Airlines has been proved a setback for the taxi operators in Leh.
“We have 5000 vehicles registered with the Leh Taxi Operators Association but due to low influx of tourists only 500-600 vehicles are being used by the travellers causing huge losses to the operators as most of newly purchased vehicles are financed and it has become difficult for the owners to meet the loan installments for the financed vehicles, said Rinchen.
He also urged the UT administration to take necessary actions to restore Air-traffic if possible and also put a cap on the air tickets. He also sought immediate intervention by the Hon’ble Lt Governor Brig. (Dr) B D Mishra (Retd.) to ensure 24×7 road connectivity to Ladakh via Srinagar-Leh and Manali – Leh highways at the earliest so that maximum number of the tourists could visit Ladakh.
