Sunday closure a spoilsport as hotel occupancy dips

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 21

Shimla witnessed a surge in tourist arrival with hotel occupancy touching 70 per cent on Friday and Saturday but a sudden void was created on Sunday as markets were closed and the occupancy dropped down to 20-30 per cent.

“The tourist inflow increased in the past two days with occupancy going up to 70 per cent but shops and markets were closed on Sunday leading to a sharp drop in occupancy,” said president, Tourism Industry and Stakeholders Association, M K Seth adding that queries were pouring in for Christmas falling at the weekend but the same enthusiasm is not seen for New Year.

The hoteliers and Beopar Mandal have urged the state government to do away with the restrictions of night curfew and Sunday closure till the New Year to give relief to hoteliers. “Income during the Christmas and New Year time was the cushion for salaries to be paid for the next four months as January and February are generally lean period due to harsh weather”, said president of Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association Sanjay Sood.

“The hotel association has sent figures to the tourism department indicating that hardly any tourism related employee, employers and their staff have been afflicted with the disease. Moreover, the number of Covid cases is more in the suburbs and rural areas than in the main town frequented by the tourists”, he added.

“Over 44 per cent of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on tourism and the restrictions are taking heavy toll on the local economy”, said president Beopar Mandal, Shimla Inderjeet Singh. “Wedding season is over and the number of Covid cases is coming down. The government should reconsider its

Meanwhile, tourists faced inconvenience as the eating joints and dhabas were closed. “We left our hotel and went to suburbs of Shimla before returning back to Chandigarh but food was not available. We had lunch at Kandaghat at 6 pm”, said a couple Ravi and Pinki.