Shimla has been witnessing large number of tourist arrivals resulting in 100 per cent hotel occupancy. The rising mercury and extension of holidays in schools of Delhi and Punjab coupled with power cuts are making people travel to cooler places like Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie or even McLeodganj. Confirming this, Ajit Butail, Chairman of CII Tourism Cell, Himachal Pradesh said that on an average about 50000 plus tourists are coming to Shimla every day, which has a bed capacity of about 35000. A positive sign is that the forest department has given their rest houses on lease and opened Ecotourism camps at various places, as well as the home stay scheme of tourism department, whereby visitors are diverted to rural areas in the vicinity, preventing de-congestion of known tourist destinations.
According to a report in Times of India, lauding the effort of people of Sangla Valley in Kinnaur district who had formed the House Owners Association last year and treated tourists to festival of local cuisine, culture and folklore, he said that it had the desired effect and this year over 5000 tourists visited the tribal destination.
