State plans survey to boost tourism

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 9

Keen to attract more high-end tourists not just from within the country but abroad as well, Himachal tourism is getting a study done on the tourist profile and carrying capacity of major destination so as to get an idea about the statistics and preferences of its visitors.

With a record 1.61 crore tourists visiting the state last year, the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department has entrusted the task of getting a proper study to a Delhi-based firm. The study will give exact details of the tourist profile including age group, duration of stay and preferred destination, as to get an exact idea about the changing travel preferences of tourists.

The department has the statistics of the number of tourist arrivals every year along with the breakup of domestic and foreign tourist. But there is no exact data about the duration of their stay and changing preferences towards adventure and eco tourism. The statistics will reveal the nationality of the foreign tourists who prefer Himachal and also the states within Indian from where maximum people are visiting the state.

“The exact statistics along with the carrying capacity of the destinations will help us in making changes in our policy and marketing in selling the state as a tourist destination,” said a senior official of the department. He admitted that as far as the numbers go, there has been an appreciable growth from 80 lakh tourists in 2006 to 1.61 crore in 2014 but in terms of the quality there has been not much progress.

Another important aspect of the study will be contribution of the tourism sector to the state’s GDP and the potential to enhance it further. This, in turn, will help in making the requisite changes and focusing on specific segments.

As far as the foreign tourist is concerned, the highest arrivals are from United Kingdom followed by the USA, France, Australia, Canada, Germany and Italy. The preferred destination of the foreigners in the Buddhist circuit includes Lahaul Spiti, Kinnuar and Mcelodganj and Kullu-Manali.

As far as the domestic tourists are concerned, the highest arrivals are from Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal and Rajasthan.

Keeping in mind this aspect, the department plans to undertake aggressive marketing in these states. The weekend tourists coming here from the region bring in less revenue as their stay is very short limited to a day or maximum two days.

However, the very short duration of stay of almost all tourists, both domestic and international, is a major cause of concern. This is also an indication that except for the natural beauty that the state is endowed with, very little has been done to create amusement facilities which could hold the interest of the tourists.

The fact that destinations like Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala are over-saturated has also forced the department to identify and promote the lesser known places.