Himachal Budget: Special focus on Kangra tourism
Approximately ₹3,000 crore has been proposed to be spent expansion of Gaggal airport.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while presenting the 2025-26 budget on Monday, announced a slew of measures to boost the tourism sector in Kangra. Sukhu, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the expansion of Kangra airport was also among the state government’s priorities. The expansion would enable the landing of larger aircrafts, providing tourists with easy and fast transportation facilities and thereby increasing the number of tourists.
The land acquisition process for the expansion of the Gaggal airport in Kangra, the most populous district in Himachal, has been initiated. Once it is done, the construction work will commence. According to the budget details, approximately ₹3,000 crore has been proposed to be spent on this during 2025-2026.
The expansion project aims to increase the runway length of Kangra airport from the current 1,376 metres to 3,010 metres.
Tea tourism gets push
The state government announced that amendments will be carried out to the current laws to promote tea tourism by developing tea plantations as eco-tourism destinations, similar to Sikkim, Assam and West Bengal. CM Sukhu announced that all necessary permissions would be provided to investors without any hurdles and it will not only expand and preserve tea plantations but will also bring global recognition to Himachal’s tea. “Tea tourism can play a significant role in strengthening the state’s economy, with immense potential for employment generation,” CM Sukhu said.
Tea is mainly cultivated in Himachal’s Kangra district and the industry stakeholders say that tea tourism has a lot of potential. Notably, the European Commission in 2023 granted a protected geographical indication (PGI) for the unique Kangra tea. Dharamshala Hotel Association president Ashwani Bamba said these measures would provide a significant boost to the tourism sector in the Kangra region.
Pong dam area to be developed
Moreover, areas near Pong Dam, including Nagrota Surian, Khabbal, Dehra, Kaza, Rakchham and Chitkul, as tourism destinations. CM Sukhu said the DPR of Nagrota Surian, Khabbal and the Dehra Wellness Centre have been submitted to the Union ministry of tourism for in-principle approval.
As the state government is constructing a zoological park in Bankhandi, Kangra, CM Sukhu announced that the state government is also going to establish a state-of-the-art ‘planetarium’. “This will not only attract local residents towards self-employment and tourists but also increase interest and awareness in astronomy and space science,” he added.
