Ladakh records over 3.3 lakh tourist arrivals till July 2026

Excelsior Correspondent

LEH, Aug 8: Ladakh recorded 3,30,332 tourist arrivals between January and July this year, nearly matching the 3,35,872 tourists who visited the Union Territory during the entire 2025 calendar year, according to official figures.

Tourist footfall crossed the one-lakh mark in both June and July, with 2,12,786 visitors recorded during the two months.

In July, Ladakh received 1,05,046 tourists, including 95,416 domestic and 9,630 foreign visitors, registering a 56.15 per cent increase over the 67,273 arrivals recorded in July 2025. In June, 1,07,740 tourists visited Ladakh, compared to 75,089 in the same month last year, marking a growth of 43.48 per cent.

Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena attributed the rise to improved connectivity, infrastructure development and growing interest in Ladakh's adventure, nature, cultural and spiritual tourism besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to the citizens to visit tourist places in India to promote domestic tourism.

The tourist footfall was also supported by events such as the Hemis Festival, Pratham Sindhu Kumbh, Ladakh Astro Week, Phyang Tsedup and other local monastic festivals.

Of the total arrivals till July, 1,57,371 tourists, or 47.64 per cent, arrived by air, while 1,16,523 entered through the Kashmir route and 56,438 through the Manali route.

Ladakh's road network has expanded from 1,799 km in 2019 to more than 4,200 km in 2026, while the number of bridges has increased from 19 to 72.

The annual closure period of Zoji La has also reduced from around 127 days to 16 days, while the Kargil-Zanskar road now remains closed for about 11 days compared to 154 days earlier. The number of homestays has risen from 128 in 2019 to 2,275 in 2026.

The administration has also undertaken tourism sector reforms, including simplified documentation, reduced compliance requirements and granting of industry status to hotels and guest houses, aimed at strengthening tourism infrastructure and creating more livelihood opportunities for local residents.