Excessive rains becoming perpetual curse for HP tourism industry, room occupancy down to 20 pc

Shimla: Excessive rains wreaking havoc in the form of cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides are becoming a perpetual curse for tourism in Himachal Pradesh during the monsoon season.

However, with the withdrawal of monsoon, the hospitality industry is pinning hope on revival.

The tourism sector, the main stake of Himachal, contributes over Rs 14,000 crore annually to the state gross domestic product (SDGP) and provides employment to a large population.

"The room occupancy in the state which ranged between 70-80 per cent in 2019 beforethe Covid pandemic, stood between 10-20 per cent this monsoon, a sharp decline as torrential rains damaged infrastructure and washed away roads in several districts", Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurants Association (FOHHRA) President Gajender Thakur told the PTI on Thursday.

Monsoon withdrew from eight out of 12 districts on Wednesday. Himachal received 41 per cent excess rains from June 20 till September 25 and the state suffered losses of Rs 4,861 crore. The state witnessed 47 cloudbursts, 98 flash floods and 148 major landslides and rain-related incidents have so far claimed 262 lives.

The tourism industry is unable to bounce back after the COVID pandemic, as the 2023 monsoon fury rubbed salt on the healing wounds, and even in 2025, the number of tourists dropped sharply due to the Maha Kumbh, then the Indo-Pak conflict and now the monsoon disaster, he said.

In early July, major tourist destinations witnessed almost zero hotel bookings, with National Highways like the Chandigarh-Manali route severely damaged and sensational coverage of disasters and panic-driven content online further discouraged tourists even from unaffected areas, exacerbating losses, Thakur maintained.

A permanent solution of building flyovers on flood and landslide prone areas especially in Manali is the need of the hour to ensure that the road connectivity is not affected during monsoons, he said adding that we have requested the union and state governments to extend loan installments are there is no business and majority of hoteliers have taken loans.

Thousands of pilgrims going for Manimahesh yatra were stranded in Chamba district with floods and landslides blocking the road connectivity and the news reports have created panic among the tourists who are avoiding travel to HP, said a hotelier.

"There is no business, bookings were cancelled after the monsoon disaster, and trains are empty. We are hoping that the tourist inflow would pick up during Navratras as now the weather is pleasant and roads are open", said Lucky, coordinator of Taxi Union at Shimla Railway station.

The Shimla-Kalka railway track was also obstructed in the monsoon. Although the services have resumed, trains are running empty and there is no work, says Nisar Ahmed, a coolie.

A large number of people used to come to Shimla during Navratras from West Bengal, but this year, the majority of bookings were cancelled due to disaster as people saw videos and news of landslides, floods and casualties, which created fear, says temple priest of Kali Bari temple in Shimla.

Straight cutting of hills, deforestation, lack of proper planning, construction of houses and commercial establishments on drains and river banks, unscientific dumping of muck and climate change are leading to disaster during monsoon, opined experts.