Hoteliers bank on clean air in hills, snowfall for spike in tourist footfall

Following a massive spike in air pollution in the plains during the festival of lights, hoteliers and home stay owners are expecting an increased tourist footfall at hill stations like Shimla and Manali. In addition to much cleaner air, early snowfall in Lahaul and Spiti and Rohtang will further encourage tourists to escape from the polluted cities.

“We already have a good tourist flow at the moment. The high pollution levels in most cities in North India will encourage people to escape to places with clean air at least for a few days,” said Anoop Thakur, a Manali hotelier. “Besides, we’ve had early snowfall this year. Snow is available not only at Rohtang but at lower-altitude places as well. The combination of clean air and snow is likely to draw a lot of tourists to the hills station,”