Elections blamed for tourist drop

by Baldev Chauhan
BBC correspondent in Simla

The cool mountain air of resorts such as Simla tempts many

Tourist traffic in India's popular holiday destination in the state of Himachal Pradesh has seen a 50% decline this summer.

Those in the industry blame it mainly on the staggered general elections, spread over three weeks across the largest democracy in the world.

To escape the searing heat of the plains Indians in large numbers throng the hills of north India in summer months, particularly in resorts such as Simla, Manali, Kasuali, Dalhousie, Dharamasla and Chail in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

But hoteliers and travels agents say until now the occupancy this summer since late March has been around 30% in most hotels in the state, compared to around 80% in previous years.

"This summer we've particularly missed out the Gujarat travellers who throng the state in April," says Anil Bharadwaj, a top travel agent of the state here.

Straggled elections

"The primary reason for the poor arrivals has been due to the straggled elections and long campaigning, particularly in the home states of the travellers," Mr Bharadwaj told the BBC.

"Elections have hit the tourism industry in a big way, my hotel is virtually empty in the last few weeks," says Devinder Shyam, a prominent hotelier in this resort town.

The ongoing general elections which started on 20 April preceded by weeks of campaigning, will end next week with the final day of voting on Monday 10 May. The results are due on May 13.

Besides the elections, cancellation of several national entrance tests of school and colleges due to paper leaks, is also seen as one of the reasons for fewer Indian families travelling this summer.

But the travel industry here is expecting to catch up with the tourists for the remaining part of the summer before the start of the rainy season.

The monsoon normally strikes the southern tip of the country in early June.