As tourist season nears, hotels in Manali are expecting to see higher occupancy than last year owing to an increased number of tourists. Fifty per cent rooms have already been reserved for the months of May and June while remaining are likely to be booked soon. Tourist inflow to Manali, Himachal Pradesh is expected to cross the 35-lakh mark this year, according to data from the State Tourism Department. Last year, 32 lakh tourists visited the hill station.
Manali has over 800 hotels, resorts, guest houses and homestay units that have been flooded with thousands of booking enquiries for summer this year. This month is also expected to see a big crowd and many hotels have full occupancy after April 10.
According to hoteliers, tourists from Kashmir are diverting to Himachal Pradesh. According to the Department, nearly ten lakh domestic and overseas tourists visited Manali in 2001. The figure has increased by over 200 per cent in 12 years.