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Sukhu invites hospitality, tourism industry to explore Himachal’s emerging destinations
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday welcomed and felicitated hotel professionals, travel agents, tour operators and other representatives of the tourism industry from across the country at the 56th Annual Convention of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India in Varanasi.
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday welcomed and felicitated hotel professionals, travel agents, tour operators and other representatives of the tourism industry from across the country at the 56th Annual Convention of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) in Varanasi.
The CM urged tourism industry stakeholders to encourage domestic and international travellers to visit Himachal and include new and lesser-known destinations of the state in their tour packages.
He asserted that during 2025, from January to December, Himachal received 3.11 crore tourists, including 1.66 crore religious tourists. In 2026, up to July, 1.06 crore tourists have already visited the state.
He called upon the hotel and hospitality industry, travel agents, tour operators and all other stakeholders to partner with the state government in exploring Himachal’s vast tourism potential.
He said the state is preparing a ‘She Travel’ policy with the objective of establishing Himachal as a safe and welcoming destination for women travellers. The government is also working to promote women-led tourism entrepreneurship by enabling women to create livelihood and self-employment opportunities through homestays, local food enterprises, handicrafts, local products and tourism start-ups, he added.
To promote rural tourism, the state has introduced a homestay scheme and implemented the Home Stay Rules, 2025, providing local communities with opportunities for self-employment while enabling tourists to experience the authentic lifestyle of Himachal’s villages.
He stated that Himachal Pradesh has immense potential for adventure tourism, including trekking, skiing, paragliding, river rafting, mountaineering, camping, mountain cycling and water sports. Bir-Billing has already given Himachal a distinctive position on the global adventure tourism map. He added that the state is equally rich in religious and spiritual tourism.
