Heat wave intensifies, tourist footfall up in Kullu, Manali

Abhinav Vashisht

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KULLU, JUNE 13

Due to the onset of heat wave in the plains, the tourists are rushing towards Manali to enjoy chill in the weather. The data gathered reveals that last week 23,662 tourist vehicles from other states registered at the green tax barrier while the number was 17,964 in the preceding week.

Tourists have started thronging the Rohtang Pass, Marhi, Gulaba, Atal Tunnel, Solang Nala, Hamta and various other tourist spots. The Mall Road at Manali is buzzing with tourists.

The opening of the Rohtang Pass for tourists from today is further expected to increase the tourist influx. The tourists are also enjoying various adventure sports like rafting, paragliding, zip-lining, rock climbing, rappelling, zorbing, skiing, snow slides, etc.

Manali Hoteliers Association (MHA) president Mukesh Thakur said that the footfall of tourists this time was better than the last year. He said that generally the hotels were witnessing around 80 per cent occupancy, which improves further at the weekends. Another hotelier Harish said that online queries regarding bookings had increased. The hoteliers were hopeful of a good summer season as the weather here was still pleasant.

The months of May and June witness the maximum number of tourist arrivals in the district. While the other months witness around 2 lakh arrivals, these two months witness double the number of visitors. According to the figures of the tourism department, the number of tourists starts increasing in the month of April and May-June is the peak season of the year. Some tourists stay in the tourist destinations of Manali, Manikaran and Banjar during this period and start returning after the heat subsides in August. Manikaran, Kasol, Barshaini and other places of Parbati valley of the district are also witnessing an increase in the number of tourists for the last few days.

According to the data gathered from the Tourism Department, in recent years, Shimla is lagging behind in terms of attracting tourists as compared to Kullu. According to the experts, Kullu-Manali has become the most favourite destination for tourists of the country and those from abroad.

Due to heavy tourist influx, traffic jams have become common on the roads of Manali and other tourist hotspots. Kullu SP Sakshi Verma said that traffic and law and order was being maintained. She urged the commuters to obey the traffic rules and not to park vehicles on the roadsides.

Favourite destination

• The months of May and June witness the maximum number of tourist arrivals in the district. While the other months witness around 2 lakh arrivals, these two months witness double the amount of visitors.
• According to the data gathered, Shimla now lags behind in terms of attracting tourists as compared to Kullu
• Experts say that Kullu-Manali has become the most favourite destination for tourists