Most hotels packed to capacity in Shimla

Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 6

Reeling under the scorching heat in the plains, tourists are making a beeline for Shimla and hoteliers are doing a roaring business.

The room occupancy is around 90 per cent and tourists are advised to make advance bookings so that they are not fleeced by unregistered tourist guides and touts, says president of the Shimla Hoteliers and Restaurant Association Sanjay Sood.

Rooms are available in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 40,000 per day and due to the peak season, the rates of home stay units have also gone up. Moreover, multi-storey parking lots have come up at the ISBT crossing and Lift.

“It was hot in Delhi yesterday when we started and when we reached Shimla, drizzle welcomed us,” said Ashish from Noida, who has having a leisure walk with his family on The Ridge.

The MeT office has predicted rain or thunderstorm in Shimla and other mid hills tomorrow and from June 10 to 13. However, the weather will remain dry on June 8 and 9. There is no water shortage in the town as supply has been between 45 and 50 MLD since May, said Managing Director of Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam (SJPN) Dharmender Gill.

Most hotels are packed to capacity. The ongoing Summer Festival, which concluded today, was another attraction for tourists.

“It has been observed that most tourists strolling on The Mall are unaware of the historical importance of heritage buildings and, therefore, we have started heritage tour and today heritage walk was organised from Scandal Point to the Vidhan Sabha for tourists and locals. The idea is to acquaint the people with the history of heritage buildings,” said president, Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association, MK Seth. The guide apprised the visitors about the history of monuments, including Gaiety Theatre, Town Hall, Scandal Point, General Post Office, Central Telegrah Office, Thomas Cook building, Western Command, Railway board building, Gorton Castle and Vidhan Sabha.