Himachal sees unprecedented tourist footfall as Kashmir recovers from floods

As Jammu and Kashmir recovers from the havoc of last month's deadly floods, tourists have been flocking to the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh.

The tourism and hotel industry in Himachal is hopeful of getting double fold business this year as tourists are rushing to Shimla these days. Hotels in Shimla and other parts of the state are full and the travel and tourism industry is expecting this boom to continue till November end.

Travel agents in Shimla believe that the Kashmir floods had an impact on tourism in the Valley and that will benefit the travel and tourism business in Himachal Pradesh for next two years.

"The whole of Himachal is experiencing full occupancy. All the bookings of Kashmir have been transferred to Himachal after the floods. Due to the recent holidays and Dussehra festival, many tourists enjoyed here. Till November, we are expecting full occupancy," said Satish, a local travel agent.

Meanwhile, tourists say that Shimla's beauty and closeness to Delhi is what attracts them, "Shimla is beautiful and the weather is great, I am very happy to be here. Families will avoid Jammu and Kashmir after floods. Shimla is also closer to Delhi," said Pankaj Sharma, a tourist from Delhi.

Himachal Pradesh receives over 16 million tourists annually which is double the population of the state and the travel and tourism industry is now expecting this number to increase manifold.