Hotel occupancy less, dip in tourists’ footfall in Mussoorie

MUSSOORIE: There has been a significant dip in the flow of tourists to Mussoorie during June this year, say hotel owners in the city.

The month of June, which is otherwise the peak tourist season, has seen a significant dip in tourist footfall, particularly during the weekdays, some of them said.

According to Ajay Bhargava, secretary of Mussoorie Hotels Association (MHA), this year, during the month of June, the occupancy rate in a majority of the hotels in the town was less as compared to the previous year.

“June is peak tourist season.But this year, the hoteliers suffered setbacks as the hotel occupancy in a majority of the hotels was between 10 and 20% less as compared to last year,” he said. Similar sentiments were echoed by RN Mathur, president of MHA.

“In the past, all the hotels had near 100% advance bookings but this year, between June 11 and June 30 this did not happen,” Mathur told Hindustan Times.

Feroz Ali, another hotel owner said: “This June, the town witnessed high rush of tourists during the weekends but on weekdays, the tourist arrival was low and hoteliers had to offer high discounts throughout the month,”

The dip in tourist traffic, hotel owners say, is a worrying trend for the town whose economy is directly dependent on tourism.

Industry experts like Mathur and Bhargava say that over the past few years, the popularity of Mussoorie as a tourist destination had come down significantly.

“We have not been able to develop any new tourist destinations for prolonging the length of stay of tourists. After a stay of just 1 or 2 days, the tourists complain that they have nothing more to see,” says Bhargava.

District t ourism of f i cer Yogendra Gangwar, however, contradicted the occupancy claims of the hotel owners.

“Although the official figures for tourist flow to Mussoorie will be compiled by July 10 but I feel that there has been an increase in tourist arrival this year,” Gangwar t old Hindustan Times.