Travellers preferring Kashmir over Himachal

Monday, May 9, 2022

During summers, majority of visitors who travel Himachal, are currently opting for the Kashmir valley. This is impacting Kangra tourism.

The president of the Upper Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association, Ashwani Bamba, explain that returning of peace and harmony in the valley is one of the main reasons for this change. Reportedly, Kashmir hotels are completely full and this distraction of tourists to Himachal has impacted its businesses like anything.

He explains that Kashmir is a much improved option compared to the Himachal regarding connectivity and infrastructure. At Srinagar airport, bigger planes can easily land. This can attract more tourists by air to this place. Also, the airfares are quite reasonable in comparison to Himachal Pradesh.

When it comes to connectivity, Himachal is meagre. The Gaggal airport in Kangra is the state’s busiest airport but the suggestions in terms of increasing the length of its airstrip has been getting delayed for several years. At the said airport, only small planes can land as of now. Because of this, airfares are quite high.

Deepak Kumar, a tour operator in Himachal, explains that many agents have stopped fetching tourists as the entry rules and other taxes related to vehicles like buses and others are quite lofty. Of late, Gujarat tour operators had taken a decision to refuse Shimla because of high state taxes.

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