No snow on New Year’s Eve, Chail, Kasauli fail to attract tourists

Tribune News Service

Solan, January 1

The absence of snow in Chail and Kasauli during New Year’s celebrations led to poor tourist influx with roads in popular tourist spots wearing a deserted look.

Though the additional police force had been deputed in anticipation of a vehicular rush, no traffic rush was visible. Police vehicles were seen patrolling the towns. No incident of hooliganism was witnessed on the streets.

Despite the constant flow of vehicles on the Kalka-Shimla national highway, only a few turned towards Kasauli and Chail. Residents, who were anticipating a traffic influx, were surprised to see deserted roads.

“Christmas offered better business opportunities for hotels as these registered up to 70 per cent occupancy. The new year, however, failed to enthuse the tourists as bookings dropped to 25-30 per cent, with some hotels receiving barely a guest or two,” said Chail Hoteliers Association president Devinder Verma.

Hotels in Kasauli had geared up for the celebrations with live bands being the highlight. While residents usually report disturbance by the loud blaring music, no such inconvenience was experienced this time as hotels had fewer guests.

While attributing the low footfall to factors like a lack of snow and cheaper airfares and an increasing popularity of destinations like Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, Balbir, senior vice president of a key hotel in Kasauli, said, “Tourist arrival this New Year has been the lowest in several years. Better business was witnessed around Christmas. Though bigger hotels saw a sizable number of bookings, a majority of hotels registered lower than usual occupancy.”

Traders, who usually anticipate better business at this time of the year, echoed similar views. Rakesh, a trader in Kasauli, said, “The town saw few tourists despite it being New Year’s eve. Restaurant owners, which were expecting overwhelming rush, were disappointed.” Some hoteliers also attributed the poor tourist influx to the state government’s policy of charging a road tax from commercial vehicles of other states.

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