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Occupancy in hotels and homestays has increased to about 80 per cent as tourists from the neighbouring states are making a beeline to Shimla to enjoy the long weekend under the bracing climate. The influx of tourists in the hill town is causing traffic jams on the main roads, including the Shimla-Kalka National Highway and long queues of vehicles moving at a snail's pace are causing inconvenience to both the locals and the vacationers. Vice President of Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association Prince Kukreja told PTI that the hotel occupancy has increased to about 80 per cent in Shimla and the peak summer tourist season will start from April 15 onwards till June 15. As temperatures have started rising in the plains the visitor rush is picking up ahead of tourist season. Vehicles parked on the roads and in front of hotels by the tourists coming without advance booking coupled with construction going on under the Shimla Smart City project have become major traffic bottlenecks. A numb
Tourists made a beeline to resorts in Shimla, Manali and Kufri after a fresh snowfall, increasing the occupancy in hotels to almost 70 per cent. As many as 7,164 vehicles had entered Shimla through Shoghi border in 12 hours till 8 pm on Friday. The occupancy in hotels is expected to further rise by 10 per cent by the evening, vice president of Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association Prince Kukreja said. The police have advised the tourists to keep in mind the heavy inflow of traffic to Shimla before planning their trip, drive safely at slippery points and call 0177-2812344 or 112 in case of emergency. Slippery road conditions after rain and sleet caused great inconvenience for pedestrians and people came out only after the snow was cleared. Manali received 23 cm of snow followed by 16 cm in Khadrala, 16 cm in Shillaro, 12 cm in Kufri, 10 cm in Bharmour, 6 cm each in Shimla and Gondla, 4 cm each in Dalhousie and Kalpa and 3 cm each in Hansa and Keylong. The meteorological station
The situation post March has turned for the worse with occupancies (quarantine, medical staff) at around 20 per cent levels, indicated analysts
Travellers staying in a hotel room costing over Rs 7,500 per night will now have to pay GST of 18 per cent, against 28 per cent earlier
A slowdown in addition of new supplies along with a growing travel sector has combined to push up the occupancy in hotels
The rising occupancy at branded hotels in the domestic market is yet to reflect on the room tariffs. Average occupancy rates is estimated to have hit a nine year high of 65 per cent in FY17 bringing cheer to the industry. Tariffs, even after an improvement, is lower than the last peak seen in several years of the last one decade. The average tariff for branded hotels declined 30 per cent since FY08 to Rs 5,541 in FY16, HVS data showed. Tariffs would have seen some growth in FY17 but would be nowhere closer to the Rs 6,000 plus rates seen between FY10 and FY12 and much lower to Rs 7,000 plus rates seen during the period between FY07 and FY09. While tariffs have not kept pace, cost of operations continue to go up due to higher wage cost, power tariffs and cost of consumables. In its 2016 report, hotel consultancy firm HVS said the increase average daily rate during FY16 was ordinary but points to an improvement in the health of the sector.Indian Hotels Company, which runs hotels under ..