Hotels, guesthouses get industry status in Ladakh | India News

SRINAGAR: Ladakh Lt Governor Binai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday accorded “industrial” status to hotels and guesthouses registered with the tourism department in a bid to strengthen the hospitality sector in the UT.This order will come into effect from June 1. This is expected to benefit UT’s 1,257 hotels and guesthouses, including 1,078 in Leh and 179 in Kargil, as they can now get electricity and water tariffs at industrial rates, which are lower than commercial rates. Stakeholders including the All Ladakh Hotel and Guesthouse Association have been pushing for industry status in the sector.“The hospitality and tourism sector has significant potential to catalyze sustainable economic development and tourism promotion in Ladakh. This renovation will also enhance the visitor experience and further establish Ladakh as a world-class tourism destination rooted in sustainability, culture and hospitality,” Saxena said.Now hospitality units will get incentives, concessions and infrastructural support at par with other industries in Ladakh. Most of these hotels operate for only six months a year and are closed during harsh winters when temperatures drop as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius in some places, making high maintenance costs unsustainable for hotel and guesthouse businesses.The new tag makes hotels and guesthouses eligible for concessional bank loans under the industrial policies of the UT and central governments. These hotels and guesthouses will also be exempted from property tax and will be able to access capital incentives, subsidies and other schemes.