Tourist footfall up in Manali

Abhinav Vashisht

KULLU, MAY 15

The tourism season has started gaining momentum as the popular tourist destination Manali was buzzing with tourists this weekend. The data gathered from the green tax barrier showed that 1,700 tourist vehicles reached Manali on Friday and about 1,800 on Saturday. Besides, a large number of vehicles from within the state also arrived in Manali. An increase in the number of tourists was recorded as compared to the last week when around 1,200 tourist vehicles arrived daily at the weekend.

The Mall road is witnessing tourist rush. The number of tourists from Manali going to the Atal Tunnel and heading towards Lahaul valley has increased. As weather was clear on Sunday morning, the tourists rushed to the Atal Tunnel. After crossing the tunnel, the tourists moved to Koksar and had fun amidst snow. Tourists enjoyed adventure activities, including tube sliding, skiing, bungee jumping, zipline, etc. Deepak and Naveen from Delhi said that witnessing snow covered mountains in the month of May was nothing less than a dream.

According to the tourism stakeholders, the tourism influx has started picking up in Manali. The number of tourists is likely to increase further in the coming days. By the last week of May, the tourism season at Manali is expected to be at its peak. Most of the big hotels are running packed and even small hotels are also doing good business.

Roshan Thakur, vice-president of the Manali Hoteliers Association, said that the tourist influx had started increasing and the crowd of people at the weekend was good. Balbir Singh Aukta, DGM, HPTDC, Manali, said that booking at hotels were good and the occupancy was about 70 per cent.

The situation of jam was witnessed at many places. Manali DSP KD Sharma said that the number of tourist vehicles was increasing day by day. “Police personnel have been deployed at various places so that traffic problems do not arise. The traffic system is being managed by dividing Manali into eight sectors,” he said. He has appealed to the drivers and vehicle owners coming from outside the state to follow traffic rules to minimise the problem of traffic congestion.

The upswing

• Around 1,700 tourist vehicles reached Manali on Friday and about 1,800 on Saturday
• A large number of vehicles from within the state also arrived in Manali
• Tourism stakeholders say the number of tourists is expected to increase and by the last week of May, the season is expected to be at its peak

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