If you are in party or holiday mood to celebrate Christmas and New Year Eve with your family or friends, but you are not able to decide on a location to chill, you should just pack your bags and head to the Himachal where you can choose one of the dozens of beautiful locations that are ready to host you for the holiday season. With all tourist destinations of Himachal expected to remain jam-packed from December 24 to January 1 during Christmas and New Year Eve, the state is gearing up to welcome guests from all around the country. Most hotels are booked completely in advance and taxis and tourist buses are in huge demand these days. The hotel occupancy has already reached close to 40 per cent which is expected to remain above 75 per cent from December 24 onwards. Most of the good hotels in Manali, Shimla, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Kasauli, Kasol and other popular tourist places are already booked till the new year. New tourist destination Lahaul valley has also good booking. Over one hundred luxury tourist buses from Delhi are reaching Himachal every day besides taxis and private cars. Given the current booking trends, hoteliers are expecting record tourist footfall. While increasing cases of Covid-19 is a matter of concern, the possibility of fresh snowfall after Christmas may help in increasing the footfall. A fresh wave of western disturbance is expected to hit the western Himalayas from December 25 onwards. Gajender Thakur, president of the Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Association, said, tourist footfall in the state is increasing as tourists are heading to the hills in the holiday mood. “The peak tourist season will be from December 24 to January 1. Hotels are reporting good bookings. However, some hotels have average bookings. No snowfall in the last
If you are in party or holiday mood to celebrate Christmas and New Year Eve with your family or friends, but you are not able to decide on a location to chill, you should just pack your bags and head to the Himachal where you can choose one of the dozens of beautiful locations that
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
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
