Foreign tourists' influx up, Dharamsala hoteliers upbeat

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, May 15

Foreign tourists who were the lifeline of tourism in Dharamsala have slowly started coming back to the area after a gap of two years due to the pandemic. Though the arrival is just a trickle as compared to that in the past, people involved in the tourism industry are hopeful that the influx of foreign tourists to the area would increase in the coming months.

Ram Swaroop, who runs Kareri lodge that is very famous among tourists from the US and Europe, while talking to

The Tribune, said enquiries have started pouring in again from such tourists. “Tourists are making inquiries and planning their trips to Mc Leodganj in the coming months. I have received booking from European tourists from July. There are some queries from New Zealand also,” he said.

Ram Swaroop said interestingly, many tourists from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan had come to Dharamsala this month. They had come in groups. It seems they have come for Tibetan medicine. Tibetan medicine is very famous among the erstwhile parts of the USSR and people come here for taking Tibetan medicine, he said.

Sanjeev Gandhi, general secretary of the Smart City Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association, said before the pandemic, upper areas of the city, including Bhagsu and Dharamkot, used to be packed with bagpacker tourists from Europe. The tourists from Israel used to be long-stay tourists in the area as they used to spend summer months here and winters in Goa. The arrival of Israeli tourists to the region is yet to begin but inquiries are on, he said.

Many foreign tourists also used to come to Dharamsala region to study in Tibetan institutions and monasteries. Most of the Tibetan institutes and monasteries had been lying closed due to Covid. These have now been opened. The people associated with tourism industry are expecting that foreign tourists would come back for studying in these institutions.

As per data available from the Tourism Department, more than one lakh foreign tourists used to come to Dharamsala in the summer months before the covid pandemic. The region might take a few years to retain the same position according the people associated with the tourism industry.

Though the foreign tourists have started arriving in the region, there has been a steep dip in the arrival of domestic tourists to the region this summer. According to Deepak Kumar, a tour operator, it was due to the opening of Kashmir valley, high airfares to the region and delayed CBSE examination schedules.

Tourism industry eyes good biz

• Though the arrival of foreign tourists is just a trickle as compared to that in the past, people involved in the tourism industry are hopeful that the influx of such tourists to the area will increase in the coming months
• Many foreign tourists also used to come to Dharamsala region to study in Tibetan institutions and monasteries. Most of the Tibetan institutes and monasteries had been lying closed due to Covid. These have now been opened up

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