Until recently, planning a visit to Leh–Ladakh required dedication, even when engaging a travel agency. This is because the region includes disputed territory, and can only be visited along pre-defined tour circuits with the requisite permits. And permits meant trips to government offices, paperwork, with extended processing times. The permit issuance system was still completely manual and you couldn’t pay digitally for them. For District Administration officers and agents too, this meant tedium and a high rate of errors, leading to additional work.

In June 2021, all of this changed, and we’ve had the honor to play a key role in bringing about this transformation.

Mobiquel developed the Tourist Management System, a single, clean, and easy-to-navigate digital platform on which both domestic and international tourists can find information about tour circuits, helplines, and FAQs, while also generating permits. These permits are QR-code enabled and need to simply be scanned at checkpoints during the tour.

The platform also has a separate interface for tourism agencies through which they can manage their payments and bookings. Citizens can both generate Direct Permits through the Web portal or the app, or get their permits via agents if they so prefer.

The Tourism Management System has not only eased visitors’ experiences but also greatly eliminated manual workload for the District Administration. This faster and more sustainable digital tool has made Leh–Ladakh more accessible to tourists, increasing footfall to the region and benefitting its economy significantly.

Since the launch of this system, it has been used to issue permits to over 600,000 domestic tourists and over 29,000 overseas tourists. Its use continues to grow every day.