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The hospitality industry in the northern region, which does brisk business in June, is facing massive cancellations after the recent cloudburst triggered flash floods and landslides in parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Popular destinations like Nainital, Mussoorie, Manali and Shimla have not been affected, but tourists are refraining from visiting even these towns anymore this season.
Girish Oberoi, Secretary General of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Associations of North India (FHRANI), told Business Standard that the months of June and July are the most crucial for the hospitality industry in the north, owing to the holiday season. But the graphic round-the-clock coverage of the flood damage by the media has created fear among people, who have shelved their holiday plans, he said.
Both small and big hotels wait through the year for this season, as room occupancy is lower in other months. Now, those located on the lower reaches of the Himalayas are losing business despite good weather and connectivity.
Oberoi said the damage to small properties on the Char Dham roads was immense. "Even the official figures say that over 90 dharamshalas and small hotels have been washed away. It's a huge loss."
The FHRANI has convened a meeting on June 26 in New Delhi to introspect on how the association can mobilise its members to spread awareness on complying with building by-laws and government directives to avert such tragedies in future.
A network of close to 20,000 eateries and single-ownership hotels on the Garhwal-Chamoli road came to a grinding halt as a result of nature's fury in mid-June. This could have been minimised if the implementation of zoning laws and disaster control laws had been in place.
Ajay Bakaya, executive director of Sarovar Hotels and Resorts (which has a property in Badrinath) said that pilgrims to the Char Dham Yatra seek affordable accommodation, and this resulted in the unregulated growth of small hotels on the Garhwal-Chamoli road.
"As the window for doing business is very small for a large chunk of hotels in this region, it may be very difficult for them to survive," he added.
Hotels in the Sangla valley in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh (another region hit by excess rain) were running at full occupancy. Tourists who were holidaying there were stranded owing to loss of road connectivity caused by the cloudburst and landslides. These hotels had a narrow escape, but were finding it difficult to cater to the overstaying guests, who were waiting to be air-lifted. Many of them lacked the funds to buy back-up rations.
Krishan Negi of Apple Orchards Resorts at Sangla said the resorts remain closed from October to April. "Snowfall in April this year reduced the tourist season by one month for us. Now the flash floods will make it difficult for them to make both ends meet," he said.
Ajit Butail, convenor of the Confederation of Indian Industry Himachal Pradesh panel on tourism, said only 10 per cent of tourists visit the Kinnaur belt, due to the difficult terrain. Because of this lesser influx of tourists, the big chains prefer not to invest there, and the area is mainly catered for by local entrepreneurs who have small hotels, mostly run in an unregulated way and without insurance cover. The loss of connectivity has meant an end to business for them this season.
