Manali, Dec 8 (ANI): Manali has seen a decline in tourist arrival due to poor snowfall in the region.
Usually Manali is covered with snow by this time of the year, but since the past few years, there has been too little snowfall in this famous tourist destination.
As Manali hosts various types of snow sports, the lack of snowfall has affected winter tourism badly.
A bout of early snow on November 9, kept the tourism industry dreaming of a favourable winter season. However, most tourists have been unable to enjoy winter sports as there has been little to no snowfall here or even nearby tourist spots, such as Solang Nala.
"Actually, I came here expecting a bit of snow as I heard that in mid-November, there has been a snowfall. So, we expected some but till now we have not seen what we expected. Only on the peaks we can see some snow, which is okay," said Abhijeet, a tourist from Gujarat.
Popular winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, snow-biking, sledging, and paragliding have still not started due to the lack of snow. Locals are also worried about the delay in the snowfall as there are more than twenty-five villages that are totally dependent on the tourism industry.
"Lack of snowfall has severely affected tourism and because of this, major snow activities and games like snow-biking, skiing, mountaineering, are on a halt. We are hoping that as the snowfall becomes greater, we will gain benefits as this is our major occupation," said Khem Chand, a tour guide.
Global warming is cited as the chief reason for the lack of snow in the area.
However, they are hoping for snow from mid-December up till Christmas-time, as that would bring more tourists to this part of Himachal Pradesh. (ANI)
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