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Tourists ditch Himachal, make a beeline for Kashmir, Uttarakhand
Tourist footfall in Himachal has drastically dropped as compared to pre-Covid years despite an influx of visitors during the weekends. Tourists are rushing to more attractive locales in Kashmir and Uttarakhand
The tourist footfall in Himachal Pradesh has drastically dropped as compared to pre-Covid years despite an influx of visitors during the weekends due to the state’s failure to publicise its lesser explored destinations and tourists rushing to more attractive locales in Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
The tourism industry, which is the mainstay of Himachal’s economy and a source of livelihood for lakhs of youth in the state, paints a gloom picture. Hill stations in the state are witnessing tourist rush only during the weekends. The number of weekend tourists are more from neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
As per tourism experts, the hotels in the state capital Shimla have witnessed a sharp fall of about 60 -70% in April in comparison to the occupancy during the month in the years before the Covid outbreak.
“The hotel industry is already facing financial hardships for the last three years due to the pandemic. This year, the hotel industry was hoping for good business but low occupancy has left the hoteliers worried,” said Mohinder Seth, president of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Industry Stakeholder Association.
The key factor leading to a fall in tourist arrivals in Himachal Pradesh is that it has failed to publicise its lesser explored destinations.
“There are several beautiful landscapes in and around Shimla town but tourists are unaware of these places due to lack of publicity,” said Suresh Dogra, tour and travel operator in Shimla.
Apart from it, Himachal has become like a transit camp for tourists headed further northwards and the duration of their stay in the state has reduced.
The situation is similar in other hill stations like Manali, Dharamshala and Dalhousie.
Another factors that led to this situation is that tourist buses coming from Gujarat and Maharashtra were facing entry issues into the state and prefer to go to other states.
Also, tourists coming from neighbouring states during the New Year season faced a lot of problems due to traffic diversion and this is now also taking a toll on weekend tourism in the state.
This year, there is a drastic decline in tourist arrival from Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal, who otherwise flock to the hill state in hoards.
Tourists from these states are now preferring to visit Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
The hospitality industry, which is the biggest industry in the state, has demanded the government that tourism stakeholders and the department of tourism need work in tandem to find a solution to make the tourist stay in Himachal for a longer period.
“We request the tourism department to publicise places of interest around each tourist destination of Himachal to increase the stay of tourists,” said Sanjay Sood, president of Shimla hoteliers and restaurateurs association.
Those in the hospitality industry have suggested the government to publicise new locations around the hill stations by organising roadshows and virtual tours.
Tourism stakeholders are still hopeful for good business during the months of May and June as the schools in the neighbouring states will be closed for summer vacations.
Kullu-Manali prayantan vikas mandal has requested the district administration to open the Rohtang pass for tourists as they visit Manali to get a glimpse of snow. After the government opened the Atal Tunnel, there have been less tourists visiting Rohtang pass.
“We have requested the government to open Rohtang pass for tourism. District administration says the road is dangerous but wasn’t it dangerous when the tunnel was not thrown open for tourists ?” said Anup Thakur, president Kullu-Manali prayatan vikas mandal.
