Snowfall in Manali, the craze to see Atal Tunnel at Rohtang Pass and no entry to tourist vehicles without bookings in Shimla has led to an unprecedented rush in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district on New Year’s Eve.
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“Tourists are flocking to Atal Tunnel, leading to an increased footfall in the twin districts of Lahaul and Spiti and Kullu. The snowfall in Manali is a major attraction,” said Mukesh Thakur, the president of the Manali Hoteliers’ Association.
Gondola at Solang, Igloo stays in Hamta, winter sports activities in and around Manali, skiing and snowboarding courses offered by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports Manali are major tourist attractions, he said.
Occupancy not up to expectation
However, he said the huge rush of vehicles is not converted into the room occupancy as a large number of people from outside the state have taken properties on lease and are running accommodations as tourism units without registration. These illegal properties are offering rooms on heavy discounts, Thakur said.
Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association vice-president Prince Kukreja said being a weekend and New Year, the hoteliers are expecting a huge rush but so far, the occupancy is not up to expectation. “Maybe snowfall at Manali and craze for Atal Tunnel has turned tourists towards Manali side,” he said, adding “Advance bookings are being cancelled as people are dropping their travel plans. It may be due to the new Covid variant. We are hoping that rush will increase from Saturday evening.”
{{/usCountry}}Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association vice-president Prince Kukreja said being a weekend and New Year, the hoteliers are expecting a huge rush but so far, the occupancy is not up to expectation. “Maybe snowfall at Manali and craze for Atal Tunnel has turned tourists towards Manali side,” he said, adding “Advance bookings are being cancelled as people are dropping their travel plans. It may be due to the new Covid variant. We are hoping that rush will increase from Saturday evening.”
{{/usCountry}}Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association president MK Seth said a large number of online bookings have been cancelled as the district administration decided not to allow tourist vehicles without hotel bookings into the city and the occupancy in Shimla is 60%.
The occupancy in hotels during weekends was over 80% but still the booking and occupancy is not up to expectation. Things will improve as the day progresses, said a Shimla-based hotelier Sushant Nag.
The orders of the district administration not allowing tourists vehicles without hotel bookings in Shimla city resulted in low footfall of tourists as they planned to go to destinations with lesser restrictions and more convenience, he said. A huge chunk of tourists from the neighboring states come without any booking, he added.
The district administration in a statement had informed that tourists with confirmed hotel bookings would be allowed in the city while tourist vehicles without confirmed bookings would be parked at Tutikandi parking.
Avoiding traffic jams in Shimla
Shuttle service (HRTC bus service) is available in Shimla from Old Bus Stand to Central Telegraph Office. Tourist buses and heavy vehicles will not be allowed in the city. In case of heavy rush, vehicles would be diverted through Tutikandi-Malyana road, officials said.
In case of heavy vehicular traffic, vehicles would be staggered from Shoghi. The idea is to provide safe and trouble-free stay for tourists and avoid traffic jams in the city, they added.
Additional police force has been deployed and the city has been divided into six sectors, deputy commissioner, Shimla, Aditya Negi said, adding the responsibility of overseeing each sector has been assigned to the magistrate and nodal police officers have also been deployed in each sector to ensure traffic management and law and order.
Touching pre-Covid tourist inflow
As many as 1.39 crore tourists visited Himachal till November 30 this year compared to 56.37 lakh last year, according to data of the tourism department which was hoping to touch the pre-Covid tourist inflow figures by the year-end as December is the peak tourist season.
The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation has organised events to mark Christmas and New Year in prime properties in Shimla, Manali, Chail, Dharamshala and other places and private hotels are also hosting events to welcome tourists on New Year.
The tourism and allied industry suffered losses during the Covid pandemic and tourist inflow dropped by 81% in 2020 as compared to 2019. The tourist arrival in Himachal Pradesh was 1.72 crore in 2019, which crashed to 32.13 lakh in 2020 and marginally recovered to 56.37 lakh in 2021.
With a surge in Covid cases around the globe, the state health department has issued an advisory to observe Covid appropriate behavior to keep check on increase in cases.
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed tourism and other departments to ensure smooth flow of traffic in all districts. He has also allowed eateries at tourist places to be opened round the clock.