Srinagar, Mar 09 (KNO): The Government of India on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that tourist arrivals in the Union Territory of Ladakh declined significantly in 2025, particularly in Kargil, where the number of visitors dropped by over 70 percent compared to the previous year.
Replying to an unstarred question, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that domestic tourist arrivals in Leh decreased from 2,92,836 in 2024 to 2,12,799 in 2025, registering a decline of 27.3 percent. In Kargil, domestic tourist arrivals dropped sharply from 3,20,432 in 2024 to 93,389 in 2025, marking a 70.9 percent decline, he said.
The Minister further said that foreign tourist arrivals also witnessed a fall, with Leh receiving 34,915 visitors in 2024 compared to 29,049 in 2025, while Kargil recorded 4,215 foreign tourists in 2024 and 3,072 in 2025.
He said that the UT Administration of Ladakh has issued a notification enabling banks to extend relief measures to borrowers affected by disturbances, including those associated with the tourism sector. A committee comprising State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Jammu and Kashmir Bank has finalized a rehabilitation package for affected borrowers.
The relief measures include extension of repayment periods, restructuring of loans, conversion of interest accrued during moratorium into funded interest term loans and provision of additional credit facilities to support affected stakeholders, the Minister said.
He added that the Government has also approved the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan, under which development of 1,000 homestays is planned to improve the socio-economic condition of tribal communities, including in Ladakh. The Centre has also announced collateral-free institutional credit through the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana to support setting up of homestays across the country—(KNO)