Domestic tourism looks up in Dharamsala

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, March 13

Two years after recession due to Covid, the tourism industry in Dharamsala is looking up. The weekend tourism has boomed and hotel bookings for the coming summer season are picking up. However, a major concern for the industry is that there are no signs of revival of international tourism to the area.

Enquiries pouring in

Enquiries are coming in from domestic tourists for April, May and June. We hope that these will translate into bookings and the tourism industry will have a good season. Ashwani Bamba, President, Hotel Assn

Foreigners were the major chunk of business for the tourism industry of Dharamsala. Sources said the Russia-Ukraine war would cast a shadow on the arrival of international tourists to India. Though the government was allowing international flights from March 27, the airfares had skyrocketed, which may impact the arrival of budget tourists to India.

Ashwani Bamba, president of the Upper Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association, said, “Now that the Covid fear among people is fading, the weekend tourism in Dharamsala has picked up in March, which had been reeling under losses for the past two years.”

He said, “Enquiries are coming in from domestic tourists for April, May and June. We hope that these enquiries will translate into booking and the tourism industry will have a good season,” Bamba said.

Sanjeev Gandhi, general secretary of the Smart City Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association, said most foreign Buddhist tourists, who used to come in groups to the region, moved in a planned manner. They are expected to start visiting the region after March 27.

“We hope that the Russia-Ukraine war will not have any impact on the arrival of Buddhist tourists,” he said.

Dharamsala was also a hub for backpacker tourists from Israel. Dharamkot is also known as little Israel. The tourism industry is expecting that Israeli tourists will return to the area.