Kasauli hoteliers expect to benefit from bad Delhi AQI

Tribune News Service

Ambika Sharma

Solan, November 9

Hoteliers are expecting to benefit from the Delhi’s deteriorating air quality. Hotels in Kasauli and its surrounding areas have registered a sharp rise in the number of bookings and daily queries.

Sharp rise in number of daily queries

A sharp rise has been witnessed in the number of daily queries being received by the hotels. This is an encouraging trend as the earlier months have been quite lean due to the torrential rains in the state.

Rocky Chimni, Vice-president of Kasauli Hoteliers Association

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40% bookings made so far

The post-Diwali period seems to be brighter than the earlier weeks as around 40 per cent bookings have been made with tourists, especially from Delhi, visiting the hills.

Balbir Singh, Vice-president of rosetum hotel near Kasuali

It has become a trend among Delhi residents to spend a few days in the hills following Diwali as the air quality index (AQI) in the national capital deteriorates after the festival. This year has however become an exception as Delhi is being compared to a gas chamber even before Diwali and people are making a beeline for the hills.

Various tourist destinations in the state like Solan, Kasauli, Barog, Shimla and Chail have reported ‘good’ and ‘satisfactory’ AQI.

“A sharp rise has been witnessed in the number of daily queries being received by the hotels. This is an encouraging trend as the earlier months have been quite lean due to the torrential rains in the state,” quipped Rocky Chimni, vice-president of the Kasauli Residents and Hoteliers Association.

With clean air and ambient surroundings, Kasauli has been a favourite destination of tourists (from the neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Delhi), who prefer shorter vacation.

With even bed and breakfast units and homestays going through a lean period, the festive season appears to be promising some good returns.

“The homestays, which are located in the rural areas amid the emerald green hue of hills, lure guests from Delhi, who specially book them for post-Diwali break,” Harish, a Delhi resident who has been frequenting the hills every year during this time of the year, said.

Expecting the business to pick up after a lean tourist season, another hotelier echoed similar views. Balbir Singh, vice-president of Rosetum Hotel near Kasauli said, “The post-Diwali period seems to be brighter than the earlier weeks as around 40 per cent bookings have been made with tourists, especially from Delhi, visiting the hills.”

However, the bookings are barely made for a day or a two as against the other holidays when tourists prefer to stay back for three to four days, he said.

With the area becoming a favourite wedding destination, the big hotels here are packed in the coming days.

The hoteliers opined that as the roads in the state have been repaired now, tourists have once again started turning to the hills. However, places like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Goa, etc., have snatched a sizable share of the tourists this year, the hoteliers said.

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