Manali expects heavy footfall on New Year eve

The internationally acclaimed tourist destination, Manali town, is expecting a huge rush of tourists on the eve of New Year after sluggish footfall was witnessed on the occasion of Christmas on December 25.

The internationally acclaimed tourist destination, Manali town, is expecting a huge rush of tourists on the eve of New Year after sluggish footfall was witnessed on the occasion of Christmas on December 25.

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The reason behind the tourism industry having harrowing time recently was the inclement weather reports and snapping of power supply for over a week from December 13 onwards. Most of the hotel bookings those days were cancelled by the tourists. Now the hoteliers are expecting good business on New Year eve as enquiries regarding room bookings are on the rise.

Talking to Hindustan Times, hoteliers' association president Anup Thakur said, with the offering of huge discount on packages on the eve of New Year and five-day winter carnival of Manali, set to begin on January 2, the hoteliers are nowadays getting good response from across the country. According to Thakur, room bookings on New Year eve have touched the 60 percent mark till Tuesday, while it was very low a few days ago.

Kullu deputy commissioner (DC) Rakesh Kanwar said the district administration was fully prepared to greet the tourists on New Year eve and winter carnival occasion. "We will try to fascinate them with local folk dance and traditional culture, which help in spreading the Kullu culture across the globe,"he added.