Shimla tourism suffers 70-80% decline in average days of tourist stay

Monday, January 30, 2023

The tourism industry in Shimla as suffered a 70-80 per cent decline in the number of average days of tourist stay in registered accommodations in the queen of hills over five decades, as per a report by Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association (TISHA).

The average stay of tourists in Shimla has come down from four-five days in the 1970s to one day at present. However, the tourists residing in unregistered/unauthorised accommodations are not accounted for.

The decline is attributed to traffic jams, parking woes and mushroomed growth of unregistered accommodations in and around the state capital Shimla, the association said.

Even illegal structures awaiting regularisation are selling rooms online, creating unhealthy competition. Over 350 such unregistered units have come up in and around Shimla, which are neither registered with the government departments nor listed under HomeStay and Bed and Breakfast (B&B) and are operating through online portals, PTI stated based on the report.

The association is preparing a road map for attracting tourists to increase their footfall and stay throughout the year, PTI stated.

The Chief Minister will be apprised of the ground reality of the tourism industry with suggestions to create a tourist-friendly atmosphere and create new attractions in and around tourist destinations and publicise them, Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association president MK Seth said.

Hotels and parking slots in Shimla town can accommodate about 2,800 – 3,000 vehicles. About 40 per cent of the space in six main parking in the town is used by the locals. Overcharging by private or leased parking has become an accepted practice, and the tourists are at the receiving end, Seth said, adding that unable to survive, the hoteliers have started giving their hotels on lease, and the leaseholders sell rooms at a low tariff to cover the lease amount, creating unhealthy competition.

The total number of registered hotels, guest houses and homestay units in Shimla district was 556, with a total of 9,530 rooms, out of which about 50 per cent are in Shimla town and periphery, as per the data of the tourism department.

The tourism sector of Himachal Pradesh contributes around 7.5 per cent to the state GDP and is one of the highest employment-generating industries. In 2021, as many as 9,52,617 tourists visited the Shimla district.

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