In July and August, the Himachal Pradesh tourism industry suffered losses of approximately Rs 2,000 crore. As a result, hoteliers in the state have begun offering attractive packages in an effort to recover.
The tourism sector, which contributes more than Rs 14,000 crore annually to Himachal Pradesh’s GDP, lost around Rs 2,000 crore in July and August as heavy rains damaged road infrastructure and cast a shadow on the already limited air and rail connectivity, tourism department officials said.
The hill state’s tourism industry, which was in the process of reviving after COVID-19, suffered another setback when the monsoon caused disorder, resulting in low tourist footfall.
“The tourism industry has suffered heavy losses, and the only silver lining was an influx of devotees in six Shakti Peeths in Una, Bilaspur, and Kangra districts of the state,” Amit Kashyap, managing director of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), told PTI on Sunday.
According to police data, during the Navratri period from August 17 to 25, 8.24 lakh pilgrims visited the shrines of Chamunda Devi, Chintpurni, Sri Naina Devi, Jawalaji, Brajeshwari, and Sri Baglamukhi.
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Kashyap noted that the pre-monsoon season saw an increase in tourist arrivals, with a maximum of 1.06 crore tourists visiting Himachal Pradesh during the first half of 2023 compared to 86.4 compared to the same period in 2022. However, the monsoon ferocity acted as a deterrent.
Meanwhile, M K Seth, president of the Shimla Hotels and Tourism Stakeholders Association, stated that the roads to Shimla are now open and that the tourism industry is offering attractive packages with 40 to 50 percent discounts.
“We can only hope that the public holiday in New Delhi from September 8 to 10 in view of the scheduled G20 Summit could break the ice as few inquiries have poured in,” he continued.
According to Seth, the situation is better than portrayed in the news, and on the opposite side, hotel rates are discounted, and traffic is less than usual. He also expects things to improve in October.
Gajender Thakur, president of the Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Associations, said the roads along the Beas River in Manali have been washed away. However, traffic is being diverted via alternative roads.
As frequent landslides near Pandoh obstruct the highways between Mandi and Kullu, Thakur emphasized that the problem lies between Mandi and Kullu. “The hoteliers in Manali are ready to receive tourists and we met the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, who assured us that the roads would be opened soon. We are expecting that tourist inflow would increase from the first or second week of October,” he said.
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Thakur added that the association is also sending a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting that the loans raised by hoteliers be deferred and that the fixed charges for electricity and other utilities be revoked until tourism is revived.
In addition to hotels, the tourism-related industries of taxi drivers, travel agents, and shopkeepers have also been affected. The owner of Paradise Tours and Travel, Devender Rana, said that heavy rains in July led to massive cancellations of bookings and that tourism would pick up in October when the monsoon would end and the Dussehra holidays would follow.
According to data from the state emergency operation center, 397 people died from the beginning of the monsoon on June 24 until September 2; 257 of these deaths were rain-related, and 140 were the result of accidents. According to data from the center, the hill state has suffered losses totaling Rs 8,663 crore this monsoon. According to the report, the public works department suffered the most significant losses, amounting to Rs 2,937 crore.
