What is Monastery

Pilgrimage tourism is regarded as one of the oldest forms of tourism and gained substantial attention and popularity in India owing to its significant contribution, which inter-alia includes job creation, foreign exchange earnings, improvement in living standards, etc. Globally, Ladakh, also known as “Moonland,” is famous for its peculiar landscape and tourism worldwide, apart from its popularity for pilgrimage tourism which draws a high number of pilgrims. This pilgrimage tourism contributes significantly to ensuring sustainable development in the region by accruing various socio-economic and socio-cultural advantages. This chapter explains how pilgrimage tourism helps in ensuring sustainable development of the region. The author intends to show how pilgrimage tourism helps revive local ancient traditions, uplifting locals' living standards, reducing the unemployment rate and local economic growth, and checking regional disparities.