Heavy taxes, lack of incentives hit Himachal tourism sector hard

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, July 21

High taxes in the transport sector have hit tourism in the state hard. The taxes on commercial tourist vehicles entering Himachal Pradesh are the highest in the northern region. A private Volvo contract carriage bus entering the state has to pay an additional entrance tax of about Rs 1,400 per day.

The tax was Rs 5,000 per day a few months ago due to which the tour operators of Gujarat had boycotted the state and diverted tourists to the adjoining states of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.

The Himachal Government was levying a tax ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,400 per day on tourist vehicles entering the state depending on their seating capacity. Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand do not levy any such tax on tourist vehicles having an all-India tourist permit.

Himachal is the only state in the northern region that is charging entrance tax on vehicles registered in other states. Earlier, Jammu & Kashmir used to charge such a tax but it abandoned the practice after the state became a UT.

A leading private bus operator from the region said that Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand were providing incentives to private tourist operators from across the country to bring in tourists. The J&K Government held a meeting with private tourist transporters every year and free boarding, lodging and hospitality were provided to them while the Himachal Government charged an entry tax from vehicles having an all-India tourist permit (AITP).

The entry tax was being imposed on AITP vehicles though the Himachal Government was a signatory to the Central accord saying that no additional tax could be charged from AITP buses.

Ashwani Bamba, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Kangra district, said that the move of the private tourist operators of Gujarat to boycott Himachal had brought down tourism in the state by about 25 per cent. Now, even during the peak summer season, there was a sharp dip in the number of tourists coming to the state.

He said that brawls between the taxi operators of Himachal and Punjab was one of the reasons for the reduced tourist footfall. After brawls, the taxi unions of Punjab had issued an advisory cautioning their counterparts to stay away from Himachal. “I hope the recent meeting of the taxi operators of Punjab and Himachal with Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri helped sort out the issue,” he added.

Bamba said that there was an urgent need for the government to promote Himachal as a tourist destination as other states were doing. Besides, the state also has to be competitive in terms of taxes being imposed on the industry. Agnihotri was not available for comments over the issue despite repeated phone calls.

Tourism down by 25%

The move of the private tourist operators of Gujarat to boycott Himachal has brought down tourism in the state by about 25%. Now, even during the peak summer season, there was a sharp dip in the number of tourists coming to the state. — Ashwani Bamba, president, hotel & restaurant association, Kangra district