The tourism industry in Manali is struggling to be back on its feet after being walloped by the Pahalgam terror attack, the India-Pakistan conflict, flash floods and landslides.
The industry is now hoping that the winter season will mark a turnaround in fortunes by drawing in tourists to snow-crusted mountains and scenic landscapes.
The upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh received snowfall earlier this month, leading to a drop in the minimum temperature and lifting the spirits of locals and travellers alike.
Footfalls to Manali had plummeted during May-June because of a sharp escalation in India-Pakistan hostilities in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on tourists.
“May-June is the peak tourist season when people head to the mountains to escape the scorching heat of the plains,” a hotel owner in Manali said. “After the India-Pakistan tension intensified this summer, many bookings were cancelled,” he added.
Just when things were returning to normal, heavy rain and floods wreaked havoc in the region.
“Tourism had started gaining momentum by mid-June, but heavy rainfall and floods washed away the roads to Manali, preventing big buses from entering the town. Several tourists cancelled their plan once again,” hotelier Kunal Rana said.
“Tourists have slowly started trickling in, fanning hope that the situation will improve soon,” he added.
The flash floods and landslides have caused extensive damage to the roads in the state. Manali remained out of bounds for luxury buses for months because of the dilapidated roads. The flash flood in August swept away the bridge connecting Old Manali to the main town.
The swollen Beas unleashed its wrath on several key stretches of the Chandigarh-Manali four-lane highway, snapping the link between Kullu and Manali.
At the end of September, luxury buses resumed services to Manali, but only a few were permitted to enter the town. For a few days, buses were stationed at Patlikuhal, a village around 20km from Manali.
Now, bus services have resumed till the Manali bus stand, and many private and government luxury buses are in operation.
Solang Valley, a popular destination for adventure activities such as skiing and paragliding, has also witnessed a decline in footfall.
Harish, who clicks pictures of paragliders and sells them, said his business was down. “Earlier, I used to earn a decent amount by selling pictures of paragliders. But these days I can barely make a few thousand rupees as hardly any tourists are coming,”
he said.
The situation was no different in the picturesque Kharma Valley, an offbeat location in Old Manali near the Manalsu river.
A woman who runs a shop near the valley said: “It’s been a long time since any tourists have come here. Occasionally, some visitors from Israel come and buy a few things from our shop.”
