Scanty snowfall in HP resorts leaves tourism industry high and dry

HIT HARD Number of visitors to the state goes down by 30%; snowsport activities shut at Narkanda, Kufri; hoteliers upset

SHIMLA : Little or no snowfall in many tourist resorts of Himachal Pradesh has hit the state’s tourism industry hard this winter, with the number of visitors having gone down by at least 30% as compared to the last year.

Occupancy in the state’s hotels in January, the peak tourism period during winter, dipped from 30%-40% this time. The state tourism department and those associated with hotel industry attribute the decline in visitors to scanty snowfall.

The meteorological department’s Shimla centre said the state recorded 8.5mm rain, recording 91% deficit as compared to the last year’s 157mm.

A long dry spell resulted in less snow in key tourist destinations of Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Narkanda and other high altitude areas of the state.

“January is the peak month for winter tourism but this year’s occupancy in hotels dipped by 30%,” said Sudesh Mokta, director, tourism and civil aviation, who is also managing director of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC).

Occupancy at the government-run hotels in January this time was 48%.

‘HOTELS FILLED ONLY HALF TO CAPACITY’ “Tourism business was hit hard. Hotels are filled only half to their capacity. We are waiting for snowfall,” said Manali Hotelier Association President Gajender Thakur. Lesser snow has also brought a lull for those associated with winter sports .

“Snow sport activities are completely shut. There is hardly any snow on slopes at Narkanda and Kufri. We are receiving many inquiries but we are not in a position to start ski sessions,” Ranjeet Thakur, a skiing service operator at Narkanda, said.

Tour and travel operators in Himachal too rued dry winter.

“This is time when tourist thronged Himachal in large numbers to see snow but there were fewer queries and bookings this time. Usually visitors from Delhi, particularly those from the business class, throng hill stations during the weekends. But that did not happen this time,” said Suresh Dogra, a tour and travel operator in Shimla.

The tourism sector is considered the backbone of HP’S economy, contributing 7% to the state GDP. Himachal has a total of 2,784 registered hotels, 644 restaurants besides 2,446 travel agencies and nearly 100 tourist guides registered with the government.