Recession Hit: Floods in Punjab, Delhi, and Haryana Devastate Himachal’s Tourism Industry
Himachal Desk. Heavy rains and floods have severely impacted Himachal Pradesh’s tourism sector. With floods creating havoc in Punjab, Delhi, and Haryana, the inflow of tourists from the plains has drastically reduced. As a result, the entire tourism business in Himachal has come to a standstill.
Key Reasons
Damaged Roads: Continuous rainfall has damaged several roads in Himachal, with many national highways also shut down. Reaching popular tourist destinations like Kullu-Manali has become extremely difficult.
Impact of Floods: Due to the floods in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi, people are avoiding travel. Tourist bookings have almost completely stopped. According to Gajendra Singh Thakur, President of the Federation of Himachal Hotel and Restaurants Association, tourism activities have come to a halt due to the double impact of floods in the plains and damaged roads in Himachal.
Decline in Passengers: Even the trains running from Kalka to Shimla are witnessing very few tourists, directly affecting tourism in the state capital.
Religious Tourism Also Affected
Shradh Period: Currently, the Shradh Paksha period is ongoing, which is traditionally considered inauspicious for travel. This has further reduced footfall at religious places.
Empty Shakti Peeths: Himachal’s famous Shakti Peeths are also seeing very few devotees. On Sunday, only 3,950 devotees visited Kangra’s temples. Among them, 3,000 reached Jwalamukhi Temple, 800 visited Shri Chamunda Nandikeshwar Temple, and just 150 devotees went to Bajreshwari Temple.
Rajendra Thakur, Chairman of the All Himachal Commercial Vehicle Joint Action Committee, said that tourist bookings in Himachal have come to a complete halt due to the floods in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. This has caused severe losses to taxi and commercial vehicle operators as well. Himachal’s tourism industry is currently facing a major crisis, and experts believe it may take considerable time to recover.
