After a brief lull, Himachal feels tourist rush

After witnessing a lull in the arrival of tourists to its popular resort towns following the recent Mumbai terror strikes, Himachal Pradesh is now set for a jam-packed Christmas and new year eve celebrations.

“Most of the five-star hotels and other high-end hotels in Shimla and Manali are already booked,” said Nitin Chauhan, a top travel agent here.

“This rush of visitors will give a boost to tourism,” Chauhan told Business Standard.

Other travel agents estimate that over 80 per cent of the 500-odd hotels and guest houses in Shimla have been already booked for the festival season from December 22 to January 2.

“The bookings have suddenly picked up in the past few days after a quiet past few weeks,” said Harnam Kukreja, president, Shimla Hoteliers Association.

Once the bookings for Shimla and Manali are complete, the booking rush will pick up in the smaller resorts like Chail, Kufri, Kasauli,Dalhousie, Kullu, Barog and Palampur etc among other places.

The Indian Railways are also planning to ply special extra trains on the Shimla-Kalka heritage narrow-gauge track to cope with the rush for the festival season.

“For the past couple of days, there is a shift in the weather system as a result of the western disturbances over Himachal.This brings the hope that it may snow for Christmas and New Year, adding to the festival flavour,” said Surinder Thakur, a leading hotelier in Shimla.

The state-run Himachal Pradesh Tourism Corporation Ltd (HPTDC) has announced special packages for couples in its top hotels in Shimla, Manali, Chail, Dharamsala and Dalhousie, among other places.