Tourism may pick up next month

Tribune News Service

Navneet Rathore

Shimla, May 13

While the whole state is busy in election activity, the tourism industry in Shimla is witnessing lacklustre summer due to the low inflow of tourists.

According to hoteliers, the hotel occupancy in the state capital, which is also one of the most popular hill stations in the country, is only 30 per cent at present.

The lack of the tourist inflow has worried tourism stakeholders as well as business owners in the town, who have their fingers crossed in the hope of their businesses getting a boost after the elections.

Poll keeps visitors away

• Elections in various states
• Schools/colleges yet to close for vacations

Mohinder Seth, president, Shimla Hotels and Tourism Stake Holders Association, said there were two main reasons behind the low inflow of tourists, one due to the ongoing elections in states and the other vacations in schools/colleges in many parts of the country yet to begin.

He said the hoteliers here were hopeful that the tourist inflow would witness a rise in June after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha and Assembly by-elections.

Formulate traffic plan: Hoteliers to SP

Hoteliers here have requested the Shimla police to formulate a traffic plan to provide traffic jam-free atmosphere to the tourists visiting the hill station.

They have urged the Police Department to come up with a solution to the traffic problem in Shimla by consulting the stakeholders in advance.

They have suggested that instead of the discontinuation of the traffic regulation at the entry points to the town, the traffic plan needs to be formulated on the pattern of Chandigarh by installing traffic lights on every bifurcating point right from the Shoghi barrier.

“Instead of stopping the vehicles at one point at the entry to the city, short-time stoppage needs to be explored to avoid long queues of vehicles at the entry to the city,” said Seth.

“We urge SP, Shimla, to organise a meeting with the stakeholders to find a permanent solution to the traffic problem,” he added.

“The Police Department needs to make an appeal to the stakeholders having tourism units located in the suburbs of Shimla to guide their guests having booking in their units to avoid entering Shimla and use the bypass to avoid traffic jams. Similarly, there is a need to notify additional parking space for tourists as per the practice in the past,” he said.

Despite having low tourist inflow, traffic problem in the town remains the same and everyday commuters have to sit through long traffic jams in many areas of the town. Earlier, the police had started the one-minute traffic plan to reduce traffic problems in the town, but now the one-minute traffic plan has been discontinued due to which the traffic jam has become a headache for locals as well as for the tourists visiting Shimla.

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