IPL boosts tourist inflow to Dharamsala

IPL's three versions has marketed the beauty of the Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh and the snow range of the Dhouladhars to boost the tourist inflow to Dharamsala, sources here said.

The inflow of foreign visitors to the city was already high due to Dharamsala being the seat of Tibetan religious leader Dalai Lama, but it too suddenly increased because of IPL's worldwide telecast putting on show its surroundings.

Enquiries from various tour operators in the area from mid-May revealed that all hotels in the area were jam-packed.

The increasing traffic jams with visitor vehicles on the Dharamsala-McLeodganj road is also a testimony to the fact, the sources said.

Even in lower Dharamsala, which is the administrative capital of the area, most hotels were already booked.

Besides the IPL marketing, the Indian rush is also on because of vacations in schools in the plains.

The tourism department spokesperson here said that with both domestic and foreign tourists visiting the state round the year, Himachal Pradesh registered a record growth in tourist arrivals in 2010.

An estimated 1.32 crore tourists visited Himachal Pradesh in 2010 as against 1.14 crore in 2009, an increase of 16.38 per cent, according to data prepared by the department.