Shimla: The stakeholders of the tourism industry in Himachal Pradesh have complained of facing financial hardships following the suspension of tourism in the hill state owing to heavy rains this year.
State Tourism Industry Stakeholders' Association president, Mohinder Seth, said that tourism has been badly hit across the Shimla region due to the heavy and continuous downpours in the region from the beginning of July this year.
"Tourism in Shimla has come to a grinding halt for last about a month. There is hardly 1 or 2 per cent occupancy recorded in hotels even during this weekend. The tourism stakeholders in Himachal are under stress as they have not been able to earn anything in the last month," said Seth.
Seth added that the stakeholders were bound to face acute financial shortages and that the whole sector had been suffering losses for the past five years for various reasons.
"The tourism industry of Shimla is bearing financial loss for one reason or the other from last five years may it be an acute water shortage in 2018 or COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the subsequent second wave of the pandemic during the summer season of 2021," he pointed out.
The tourist industry's stakeholders were hopeful about seeing some light, but the hotels in the region continued to see low footfall in May and June, added Seth.
The Stakeholder Association President further said, "The tourism industry is the backbone of the economy of Himachal, which contributes 7.5 per cent share of the GDP of the state. It is the highest employment-generating industry, and the livelihood of thousands of families across the state depend on the tourism industry."
Adding to his statement, Mohinder Seth said that he was hopeful that the hotel sector would experience high occupancy in the days following the restoration of road connectivity.
"The roads are being restored, the tourism stakeholders pin hope that tourism will come back on track in the coming days," he added. Seth expressed his gratitude and added that he was appreciative of the personal engagement of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his team of ministers, who allowed the restoration work on the road connectivity to resume in a record amount of time.
"We are thankful to the Government for restoring the road connectivity in record time. This is only due to the personal involvement of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his team of ministers," he said.
Government and commercial Volvo buses have resumed service to Shimla from Delhi and other popular tourist destinations. By the start of the first week of August, it is anticipated that the train service to Shimla would also be resumed, he added.
Seth further said that PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh had given his statement about the restoration works on the road conditions and that his appeal to tourists to visit the hill state without fear was appreciable.
PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh has already given his statement about the road conditions which are under restoration. We appreciate and are thankful to him that he has also appealed to the tourists to come to Himachal without any fear.
Tourists can come to Shimla without any fear. The tourists can go to Kufri, Narkanda, Naldhera and other popular sightseeing places in and around Shimla.
The tourism industry stakeholders association welcome tourists to Shimla to enjoy the beauty of the hills, he added. (ANI)
