Festival season is here, but tourist flow yet to pick up

Shimla is yet to see surge in tourist footfall that it normally witnesses at the start of the festival season.

The Shimla Hotels and Tourism Stakeholders Association claims the average occupancy is less than 10 per cent at the moment, and the chances of improvement in the next few weeks seem bleak. “I had called up leading travel agents in Mumbai and Gujarat a few days ago to find out why the flow of tourists was not picking up despite the start of the festival season. They told me there was no query from the people, not just for Himachal Pradesh but even for Kashmir,” said Mohinder Seth, president, Shimla Hotels and Tourism Stakeholders Association.

Factors at play

Mohinder Seth, president, Shimla Hotels and Tourism Stakeholders Association, said this time there was very poor response from Mumbai and Gujarat tourists not only for HP but also for Kashmir. Tourism is unlikely to pick up much around Diwali either. Frequent landslides and communal tension over a mosque could also be the deterrents, he added.

Seth further said Bengali tourists flock the city around Dasehra, but this time their arrival is much less than normal. “Most of the Bengali tourists go to Kinnaur to explore the tribal areas. On their way to Kinnaur, they halt for a night in the city. But the road to Kinnaur has seen frequent landslides this time, and maybe that’s why, the tourists chose not to come here this time,” he said. “The tourists from Gujarat come around Diwali, but there are hardly any queries from Gujarat this time. So, tourism is unlikely to pick up much around Diwali either,” he said.

Seth said the communal tension that the city and the state had seen over a month might also be discouraging tourists from visiting the city and the state this time. “This wasn’t a big issue and it is more or less over now. But for the people coming from outside, it sends a wrong signal, for they wouldn’t know how big the issue was,” said Seth. Further, the association feels the weekend tourism has taken a big hit in the city over the last 10 years or so. “Much of the weekend tourists are going to Kasauli now. In the last 10 years or so, tourists faced a lot of inconvenience in entering the city. Now the situation is better, but the damage has already been done,” said Seth. “It will take a big effort on part of the government and administration to rebuild the confidence of tourists to return to the city,” said Seth.