The farmers’ protests at Delhi borders have now started badly impacting the tourism in Himachal Pradesh where hotel booking cancellations have continued and tourists are clueless about whether they should plan their holiday trip or they should wait for few more days.
Tourism in Himachal is already struggling to come back on track. According to hoteliers, the recent order of imposing night curfew in Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Kullu-Manali has played spoilsport for the industry. Now tourists have started to cancel their bookings following farmers’ protests that are leading to blockade of major roads from Delhi.
“Nothing is good with tourism in Himachal. After Covid-19, imposing ban on plying of AC tourist buses and imposing night curfew, the protests by farmers is all set to destroy the tourism,” Himachal Travel Agents Association president Budhi Parkash said. “Neither we oppose nor do we support these protests but we are worried for our business which is worse impacted since March this year. Tourists look for a pleasant and worry-free environment to enjoy their holiday trip. Most tourists are not able to decide if they should plan their trip or not,” he added.
The average hotel occupancy in Manali, Shimla, Dalhousie and Dharamshala is 15 to 20 per cent. The hotels have reported a large number of cancellations due to night curfew and farmers’ protests. The festive season, which used to attract thousands of tourists to Himachal in October and November, has been worst in terms of business. Hoteliers are now hoping for good business in Christmas and New Year Eve. However, many hoteliers and tour planners have left expecting anymore from this pandemic year.
Hotelier Ritesh Sood said the word “night curfew” has spread panic among tourists who think this is not the right time to visit Himachal. “Nobody in Himachal remains outside home in night time in cold weather. Government should have specifically tightened the screw on night parties and other social events. Unlike most other states, Himachal is a tourism state and we need to take every step after considering about tourism,” he said.
Many hoteliers and travel agents are reporting incidents of police stopping tourists’ movement during curfew hours from 9pm to 6am. They are also getting calls from their clients that they are not feeling safe as many major highways leading to Delhi are blocked by the farmers. Not resuming AC bus service from Delhi to Himachal is also taking toll on tourism.
However, despite so many odds, some tourists are enjoying their stay in Himachal. Tourists are enjoying sunny days and cold nights in the state. Snow is another attraction that is attracting tourists.
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