Impact of clashes with Punjab visitors, bus attacks on the wane, hoteliers upbeat

The impact of recent clashes between residents of Punjab and Himachal in Kullu district and subsequent attacks on the buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) has faded away. The incidents are not likely to impact tourism in the state. Hoteliers in Dharamsala believe that the impact of the clashes was felt for about a week but gradually it disappeared. The hoteliers praised the Himachal and Punjab governments for successfully handling and normalising the situation.

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Ashwani Bamba, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Kangra, said that people from Punjab comprised about 60 per cent of the tourists coming to the region. “The impact of the recent clashes on the arrival of tourists from Punjab was felt for about a week. However, now things have normalised and we have started receiving advanced bookings from tourists from Punjab for the summer,” he added.

Bamba praised the Himachal Government for deftly handling the situation and preventing it from escalating. “The way the Himachal and Punjab governments have handled the situation is praiseworthy. The governments of the two states did not allow the situation to escalate,” he added.

Sanjeev Gandhi, general secretary of the Smart City Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association, said, “Kangra is already witnessing reduced tourist footfall. The recent clashes in Punjab and Himachal were likely to impact tourism in Kangra, as people from Punjab comprise a majority of tourists coming to the region. However, the Himachal Government took strong steps to prevent the situation from escalating. Tourists from Punjab are now coming to the region at weekends as usual. We are expecting a large number of tourists from Punjab in April and May when the temperatures in plains rise and IPL cricket matches are scheduled in Dharamsala.”

The hoteliers of Kangra are planning to host an event in Dharamsala to attract tourists during the summer. The hoteliers in association with the Tourism Department are planning to invite travel operators and agencies to help them “market Himachal”.

They say that the summer season from April to June is their bread and butter, as the maximum number of tourists visit the region in this period. In the past two years, due to various reasons, low tourism was witnessed in the region. However, they are expecting a better tourist footfall in the region this year.