Inspirational Entrepreneurship and Stimulating Tourism Lessons From the Himalayas in India

This book explores inspirational entrepreneurial activities in the tourism industry of Ladakh, India. It particularly looks at ways to develop an entrepreneurial yet environment-friendly tourist destination. The book starts off with in-depth historical reflections of entrepreneurship and tourism in one of India’s fastest growing tourist destinations. Subsequently, the book studies the unique entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities in Ladakh’s extreme resource-scarcity and remote context based on empirical evidence from entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the tourism industry. In addition, a broad overview of contemporary entrepreneurial activities in the tourism industry in Ladakh is presented, underscoring the importance of indigenous knowledge and cultural traditions for developing sustainable tourism. Based on qualitative data analyses and literature reflections, this book provides scholars, students, professionals and policymakers an alternative view on entrepreneurial activities in the tourism industry of an ecologically jeopardized region.

.- Historical reflections of the growth of tourism through entrepreneurial efforts in Ladakh.

.- Entrepreneurial challenges: Socio-economic and environmental constraints at high altitude.

.- Contemporary entrepreneurial activities in Ladakh’s tourism industry: Stories from pioneers and daredevils.

.- Moving forward: Indigenous knowledge to prepare the next generation and educate Ladakh’s visitors.

.- Concluding discussion: Relevant takeaways for scholars and practitioners.

Emiel L. Eijdenberg is an Associate Professor at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands. He drives an institutional transformation of Teaching & Learning to better prepare new generations of business and economics students for the challenges of the future. Dr Eijdenberg’s research is on multiple value creation especially in the field of entrepreneurship, marketing and tourism. His work has been published in various international scholarly journals, several books, edited volumes and conference proceedings. 

Manisha Agarwal is a Lecturer in Business and Psychology at James Cook University, Singapore. With a background in Psychology and a PhD in Tourism, she takes on a multidisciplinary approach to deliver engaging and meaningful learning experiences for her undergraduate and post graduate students. Her research interests include tourist behaviour and understanding of underlying psychological processes in tourists. She is also interested in exploring different methodology to learn more about tourist behaviour and tourism phenomenon such as destination management and loyalty as well as responsible and tourism. Her work has been published in top scholarly journals. 

K Thirumaran (Thiru) is an Associate Professor, Acting Campus Dean and Academic Head in Business at James Cook University, Singapore. His research interests are in luxury tourism and hospitality management, and he coined the term “affinity tourism”, which refers to the propensity of guests to partake in the “familiar” and “similar” cultural experiences while at a destination. Dr Thiru’s work has been published in various scholarly journals and in several books. 

Abhishek Singh Bhati is the Pro Vice-Chancellor and CEO at the Newcastle Australia Institute of Higher Education, Singapore. He is also Regional Vice-President (Southeast Asia) of the International Tourism Studies Association and makes regular contributions to print media and TV and radio appearances on tourism-related matters. Dr Bhati is an active researcher, and his research has been published in a wide variety of publications in the areas of tourism and scholarship of learning and teaching. In particular, he is interested in technology and the role it plays as a catalyst for tourism industry changes, low-carbon tourism for future sustainable development, and tourism’s contribution the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).