Some countries choose to make tourism expensive in order to maximise the revenue without experiencing an adverse cultural impact. I'm thinking of Bhutan and the $250/day packages. But this is simple, I'm not the preferred customer, and I do not visit Bhutan. I do visit Ladakh, and there I get frustrated with the piecemeal attempts to make an extra dollar from tourism. Tourism in Ladakh has challenges, it has one of the shortest tourist seasons in India, which for local people makes earning a living a challenge. But within India it also has some special powers both as part of J&K state and under the Ladakh autonomous hill development council.
One of the more frustrating groups is the motorcycle rental mafia. The motorcycle renters union have decided they control the highways of Ladakh, created checkposts and stopped other businesses from operating on their turf. You need to show a union pass to get past these posts... and that's only the first level, at the checkposts they may ask for extra rupees. The union graciously permit outside riders to reach Leh before making them an offer they can't refuse. Hire some of the worst quality motorbikes in India at the highest prices in India. The price fixing doesn't seem to be secret, and it wasn't four years ago either. Even if most businesses undercut the union rate by a few hundred rupees, it's still expensive. So what if you refuse... well they have connections. There are several news stories about the mafia seizing motorcycles belonging to their rivals, the Manali bike renters union. If you accept all of this, the low quality of the bikes is still rather tedious, unless you are lucky and take a nearly new bike. You may be sent out with a dirty airfilter or spark plugs on your multi day journey which takes you a days walk from civilisation. The lack of power from the poorly maintained bikes can induce madness.
The taxis and tourist minibuses have their own union. You might be familiar with taxis having fixed rates, local government will do this as part of regulation. Here the taxis have the power, and their table of rates is about double what you would expect. If you want to go the 5km to the airport they will ram that rubber dong all the way up. This essentially means that budget travellers have to find a local bus, local shared taxi or hitchhike between towns. The tourist minibuses have fixed the price between Leh and Manali at Rs2000, and also seemingly the commission for selling a ticket at Rs200. A few agents in Manali do a lot of business, you can get the ticket for Rs2100, but it's harder in Leh. To give some perspective, typical ticket commissions might be Rs10-Rs100. Rs200 is steep even for the most difficult to obtain tatkal train tickets, let alone a 20 second call to book a bus. More budget travellers now take the two day local bus to avoid this cost.
The permits needed to visit the border areas are essentially tax payments, and the copies act as proof of payment. As with most taxes or tolls in Ladakh somehow adding the words 'environmental' or 'red cross charge' makes it all ok. (I helped push an ambulance over a 5000m pass, certainly no money was spent there). The system is revealed when only a few of the checkpoints near the border itself actually check the permits in both directions. Any system of tracking foreigners near an international border is falling a bit short if you don't know if people have left. But it doesn't stop there, you can't apply for the permit directly, you have to pay a local agent to go and get it for you. This may have originally made some sense, if tourists travelled as part of organised agency tours. But now tourists travel independently, and the requirement to go 'through an agency' is a little backhander between the council and the local businesses.
Tolls... Ladakh has some questionable trolls in the roads. These tolls only apply to tourists and generally involve a man with some tickets standing in a suspiciously remote location. Whether the municipal or village council does have the power to impose tolls on a national highway I don't know, but it can become rather frustrating.
The cyber cafes of Leh also have a price fixing union, but these guys will disappear soon enough. Tourists have been pushed into using them by the lack of mobile network data, and the ineffective WiFi at guest houses and restaurants. Next year a second government cable and rumours of Reliance's Jio coverage will change the game.
I don't object to the homestay price fixing within the national park quite so strongly. The price is fixed at Rs1000/night for sleeping, dinner, breakfast and packed lunch. It's easy to spend this much each day living in Leh, and ultimately the homestay is someone's private house. Previous fixed price schemes have been endorsed by the local government tourist development authority. The business owners are local people who make a very modest living in the season (not much grows in some locations). Each town has agreed to share the customers between the houses in the village, which sounds very reasonable. And you are free to vote with your feet, outside of the two most popular treks the going rate is still about Rs500/night for sleeping and food.
I love Ladakh, and the annoyances are ultimately small. In the end it is easier for my conscience when the local people do accept money from travellers like myself.
One of the more frustrating groups is the motorcycle rental mafia. The motorcycle renters union have decided they control the highways of Ladakh, created checkposts and stopped other businesses from operating on their turf. You need to show a union pass to get past these posts... and that's only the first level, at the checkposts they may ask for extra rupees. The union graciously permit outside riders to reach Leh before making them an offer they can't refuse. Hire some of the worst quality motorbikes in India at the highest prices in India. The price fixing doesn't seem to be secret, and it wasn't four years ago either. Even if most businesses undercut the union rate by a few hundred rupees, it's still expensive. So what if you refuse... well they have connections. There are several news stories about the mafia seizing motorcycles belonging to their rivals, the Manali bike renters union. If you accept all of this, the low quality of the bikes is still rather tedious, unless you are lucky and take a nearly new bike. You may be sent out with a dirty airfilter or spark plugs on your multi day journey which takes you a days walk from civilisation. The lack of power from the poorly maintained bikes can induce madness.
The taxis and tourist minibuses have their own union. You might be familiar with taxis having fixed rates, local government will do this as part of regulation. Here the taxis have the power, and their table of rates is about double what you would expect. If you want to go the 5km to the airport they will ram that rubber dong all the way up. This essentially means that budget travellers have to find a local bus, local shared taxi or hitchhike between towns. The tourist minibuses have fixed the price between Leh and Manali at Rs2000, and also seemingly the commission for selling a ticket at Rs200. A few agents in Manali do a lot of business, you can get the ticket for Rs2100, but it's harder in Leh. To give some perspective, typical ticket commissions might be Rs10-Rs100. Rs200 is steep even for the most difficult to obtain tatkal train tickets, let alone a 20 second call to book a bus. More budget travellers now take the two day local bus to avoid this cost.
The permits needed to visit the border areas are essentially tax payments, and the copies act as proof of payment. As with most taxes or tolls in Ladakh somehow adding the words 'environmental' or 'red cross charge' makes it all ok. (I helped push an ambulance over a 5000m pass, certainly no money was spent there). The system is revealed when only a few of the checkpoints near the border itself actually check the permits in both directions. Any system of tracking foreigners near an international border is falling a bit short if you don't know if people have left. But it doesn't stop there, you can't apply for the permit directly, you have to pay a local agent to go and get it for you. This may have originally made some sense, if tourists travelled as part of organised agency tours. But now tourists travel independently, and the requirement to go 'through an agency' is a little backhander between the council and the local businesses.
Tolls... Ladakh has some questionable trolls in the roads. These tolls only apply to tourists and generally involve a man with some tickets standing in a suspiciously remote location. Whether the municipal or village council does have the power to impose tolls on a national highway I don't know, but it can become rather frustrating.
The cyber cafes of Leh also have a price fixing union, but these guys will disappear soon enough. Tourists have been pushed into using them by the lack of mobile network data, and the ineffective WiFi at guest houses and restaurants. Next year a second government cable and rumours of Reliance's Jio coverage will change the game.
I don't object to the homestay price fixing within the national park quite so strongly. The price is fixed at Rs1000/night for sleeping, dinner, breakfast and packed lunch. It's easy to spend this much each day living in Leh, and ultimately the homestay is someone's private house. Previous fixed price schemes have been endorsed by the local government tourist development authority. The business owners are local people who make a very modest living in the season (not much grows in some locations). Each town has agreed to share the customers between the houses in the village, which sounds very reasonable. And you are free to vote with your feet, outside of the two most popular treks the going rate is still about Rs500/night for sleeping and food.
I love Ladakh, and the annoyances are ultimately small. In the end it is easier for my conscience when the local people do accept money from travellers like myself.
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