A Bottom-Up Approach for Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Ladakh: An Initiative Taken by Women and Homestays

Tourism industry is considered an important sector for economic development. The notion of tourism is not entirely new; it has been popular since the dawn of civilization. Earlier the movement of people was either for pilgrimage or in the quest to know the geographical landscapes. During the 1960s and 1970s, this industry started developing at a rapid rate and the primary reason for the movement of tourism was to visit the different regions to experience different cultures and nature and also to visit historical sites, religions, and places. A similar case is also seen in Ladakh, a Trans-Himalayan region in northwestern India. The region is known for drawing tourist attractions (both international and domestic). Tourism in Ladakh has seen such a surge in the last two decades that it has become a cause of concern for the ecology, society, and culture. However, the region has adopted a sustainable cultural tourism approach to mitigate potential challenges posed by the recent surge. The present paper aims to study the working of homestays with particular reference to the women’s contribution to community-based rural tourism or maintaining sustainable cultural tourism. For this study, the village of Phyang from Ladakh has been selected as the area has the presence of large numbers of homestays with active women participation. The methods adopted for the study are literature review, participatory observation, and open-ended and close-ended interviews. This study revealed that homestays with women’s participation as a bottom-up approach have been playing a significant role in maintaining sustainable cultural tourism.