SRINAGAR: Ladakh continues to witness a surge in tourist arrivals, with the union territory recording 330,332 tourists from Jan to July this year, already reaching 98.35% of the 335,872 tourists recorded last year, a govt spokesman said.Air travel remained the most popular mode of reaching Ladakh, accounting for 47.64% of the total arrivals. Among tourists arriving by road, the Kashmir route continued to be more popular than the Manali route, with 35.27% entering Ladakh through Kashmir compared with 17.09% through Manali, according to the latest figures released by the Ladakh govt.“The surge in tourism numbers has been particularly noticeable in June and July, when more than 2.12 lakh tourists visited Ladakh, accounting for nearly 65% of the total 3.30 lakh tourist arrivals recorded so far this year,” the spokesman said.He said the growth in tourism coincides with a major and rapid transformation in Ladakh’s connectivity infrastructure since the formation of the UT. “The total road network 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,” he added.He said 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,” he said, adding that the number of homestays has increased from 128 in 2019 to 2,275 in 2026, creating new livelihood opportunities for local households.
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The spokesman said the surge in tourist arrivals during June and July has also been supported by a calendar of cultural, spiritual and experiential events organised across Ladakh.Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, in a statement, attributed the growing tourist footfall, particularly domestic tourism, to the sustained infrastructure development in Ladakh and the appeal of PM Narendra Modi to citizens to visit tourist places in India and promote domestic tourism.“The fact that Ladakh has crossed the 1 lakh mark in tourist arrivals for two successive months and has already achieved more than 98% of the entire 2025 footfall by the end of July is a very encouraging milestone,” Saxena said.
