To beat the heat, tourists make a beeline for Shimla

Navneet Rathore

Shimla, June 12

The tourism sector in the state’s capital, one of the most popular hill stations of the country, has witnessed a major boost as domestic and international tourists are making a beeline for the town during the weekend.

Tourists from Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra along with other states are thronging the hill station to escape the scotching heat of the plains. They are seen enjoying the famous tourist spots of the town besides taking a stroll on The Mall and the historic Ridge in the evening. Beside Shimla, tourists are also heading to popular excursion spots like Kufri and Narkanda.

The hotels in the state’s capital are jampacked during the weekend with hotel occupancy reaching up to 90 per cent on Saturday and 80 per cent on Sunday. This arrival of tourists has given a ray of hope to the hoteliers as well as the people associated with tourism and hospitality sectors. The sector was going through a dull period over the past few months.

Ramandeep, a tourist from Delhi, said he came to the town with his friends to spend weekend. “It feels good to visit Shimla. We were planning to come here for a long time,” he said adding that they had to face slight inconvenience due to long traffic jams and lack of parking facilities.

According to police, around 15,000 vehicles entered the town during the weekend while around 10,000 vehicles enter the town during the weekdays. Almost every parking lot in the town is full due to which many tourists have to face inconveniences in finding parking space for their vehicles.

President, Shimla Hoteliers and Tourism Stakeholders Association, Mohinder Seth said that June had witnessed improved tourist footfall. Hotel occupancy during the weekdays was around 50 per cent while hotels are almost packed during the weekends.

He said that tourism and hospitality industry had suffered huge losses last year. However, tourism stakeholders this time are hopeful that the business would pick up and will be better during this summer. The tourist inflow is expected to increase in the coming days as Shimla is also set to host its annual international summer festival from June 15. Every year, the festival attracts thousands of tourists as well as the locals. It features performances by famous celebrities as well as local artists. The tourism season in the town is in its peak during the month of June which slows down during the monsoon season.