Record tourist arrival in Ladakh this year

Leh, Sep 17 (UNI) As many as 38,380 tourists visited the mountaineous Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir from January to mid-September this year, surpassing all previous records.

This was stated by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Chief Executive Councilor Tsering Dorje at the concluding function of this year's 15-day Ladakh festival here He said the festival not only promoted tourist influx in Ladakh, but helped in projecting the rich cultural heritage of the region.

Mr Dorje urged the people of Ladakh to preserve and protect its rich cultural heritage, which will go a long way in attracting tourists.

''Ladakh is a unique land with multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual people,'' he added.

Large number of foreign tourists also witnessed the function.

While pointing to the foreign tourists, Dorje said they are the ambassadors of Ladakh in their respective countries and should take with them the rich cultural heritage of Ladakh.

More than 400 hundred foreign tourists attended the function during which a colorful cultural programme was presented.

Lama mask dances, a polo match, archery, rock climbing, river rafting, crava silk route scene were some of the highlights of the festival.

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