Himachal open for tourists, Dharamshala air services restored: Officials

Himachal Pradesh is now open for tourists with hoteliers in prominent travel destinations of the state offering lucrative discounts, officials said on Tuesday.

Flight services of Alliance Air from Delhi to Shimla and further from Shimla to Dharamshala have been resumed, they added.

Tourist resorts of Kasauli, Shimla, Chail, Narkanda, Kinnaur, Dharamshala, Mcleodganj, Palampur, Dalhousie and Khajjiar have been reopened and roads to these destinations are safe to travel, Amit Kashyap, Director of Tourism and Civil Aviation Department informed in a statement issued here.

Kashyap said tourists can avail of discounts in the current season in most of the hotels in the hill state.

The recent spell of heavy rains during monsoon caused disruptions in travel in some road stretches, however, with efforts of the state government to restore the same on a war footing, tourists can now travel to Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and other districts, he added.

The monsoon fury in the hill state during July and August caused severe devastation, triggering flash floods and landslides and causing massive damage to both public and private property besides human lives.

The tourism sector contributes seven per cent -- over Rs 14,000 crore -- to the State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) and provides around 14.42 per cent of direct and indirect employment, he added.

The daily flights of Alliance Air from Delhi to Shimla and further from Shimla to Dharamshala have been resumed, Kashyap said, adding that the airline has discounted the fares for all the seats on Shimla-Dharamshala-Shimla and fixed rates at Rs 3,000 plus taxes.

To facilitate the visitors, the helicopter service operated by Pawan Hans Limited from Chandigarh to Shimla and further from Shimla to Rampur, Kullu, Mandi and Dharamshala under the UDAN scheme has also been restored, he added.