Tourist rush picks up in Shimla on X-mas eve

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 24

The summer capital of the British Raj — Shimla — may miss a date with the white Christmas this year, but this has not disheartened revellers visiting the town.

Most of the hotels in Shimla, including those run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and the Oberoi’s, are packed to capacity.

The advisory issued by the state government urging tourists to avoid coming to Kullu and Manali following forecast of snowfall did affect the bookings, but as the weather cleared, queries poured in from all parts of the country, said Mohit Sharma, who runs a travel agency. Heavy tourist rush is expected till New Year’s eve, he said.

Additional Director, Tourism, Manoj Sharma said there are some 350 hotels in Shimla and on its periphery with a total bed capacity of 10,000-12,000. He said as the department has only one inspector, powers have been delegated to the Joint and Additional Directors and information officers to inspect the hotels.

The phone lines of the information offices would be opened till late hours so as to help the tourists to register their complaints, if any. “Our objective is that the tourists in Himachal should have a happy and trouble-free stay.”

Tourist rush is also gradually picking up in Manali.

Joint secretary of the Tourism Industry Stakeholders’ Welfare Association Rahul Chawla said the Christmas rush is less in the state as compared to last year due to heavy snowfall in Kullu and Manali. However, things are gradually improving. We have heavy bookings for the weekend.

Shimla experienced a bright and sunny day today. The Met department has predicted sunny days in Shimla, Kasauli, Narkanda, Manali and Dalhousie in the coming days. Tourists can still enjoy snow at some places beyond Shimla as Kufri and Narkanda still have good amount of snow cover.

The weather is pleasant here as compared to Chandigarh and parts of Punjab where the sun is not visible due to a thick blanket of fog. Tourists are making a beeline for Shimla and other places to enjoy sun and snow, said Sushant Nag, owner of a hotel in Shimla. He said a majority of hotels in Shimla are offering drink, dine and musical nights to tourists from December 25 to December 31.