Jammu, Oct. 13 -- Ladakh recorded a 60.6% year-on-year surge in tourist footfall in September 2026, welcoming 55,582 visitors compared to 34,610 during the same month last year.

Driven by off-season initiatives, overall tourist arrivals in the first nine months reached 4,60,667-a 65.38% increase from the 2,78,599 visitors logged between January and September 2025. The cumulative total has already surpassed the 3,35,872 arrivals recorded across all 12 months of 2025 by 37.16%, with a quarter of the year still remaining.

Growth spanned both domestic and international travel segments. Between January and September 2026, domestic arrivals grew 38.54% to 4,20,927 (up from 3,03,838 in the corresponding nine-month period of 2025), while foreig...