Shimla: Timely and continuing snow in Shimla brings along with it the sublime promise of a White Christmas, which has been elusive since 1991 when heavy snowfall occurred on Christmas Eve.
Though Saturday’s snowfall was moderate, it has warmed up the Yuletide spirit of the hospitality industry. There is expectation of more spells before the New Year dawns. “It was moderate (snow) but good. It indicated that this winter season would be the best for the hospitality industry,” Clarks Hotel general manager D P Bhatia said.
Snow is a big draw for tourists, especially from the plains of northern India. But Met officials are wary. They say it is still too early to predict whether Shimla will present a snowy landscape this Christmas.
Some areas like Jakhu and the US Club in Shimla experienced moderate snow but it melted immediately, Manmohan Singh, director of Shimla’s Met Office, said. Nearby places like Kufri and Narkanda, however, experienced moderate to heavy snowfall. Likewise, Manali and its uphill Solang ski slopes also saw snow, the season’s first.
Manmohan Singh said it was in 2012 when Shimla experienced significant snow in December, that too, after a gap of five years.
Hospitality industry representatives are expecting good tourist arrivals during the four-day weekend bonanza.
“This Christmas we are expecting a record footfall of tourists at all our hotels, especially in Shimla, Kasauli, Dharamsala and Manali owing to the long weekend,” Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation general manager Yogesh Behl said.
He said a number of enquiries started pouring in about chances of snow on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. IANS
