Dharamsala gears up for foreign tourists again

Published on : Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Foreign tourists are undoubtedly the source of sustenance for tourism in Dharamsala, and they have slowly started returning after a hiatus of two years in the wake of the pandemic. Even though their arrival is quite low compared to the time before the pandemic, tourism industry people are optimistic that the influx of foreign tourists to the area would go up surely in the coming days.

Ram Swaroop, runningKareri lodge which is very famous among tourists from the US and Europe, said that enquiries are coming again from these tourists. He said that these tourists are planning their trips to McLeodganj in the coming months, with bookings from European tourists scheduled from July. There are few queries from New Zealand as well.Ram Swaroop said that there are quite a few numbers of tourists in groups from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Dharamsala this month, probably in search of Tibetan medicine. Tibetan medicine is popular among the former parts of the USSR with people from there visiting for Tibetan medicine.

Sanjeev Gandhi, the general secretary of the Smart City Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association said that before the pandemic, upper areas of the city, together withBhagsu and Dharamkot, remained filled withbag packer tourists from Europe. Israeli tourists used to stay long in the area, spending the summer months in Dharamsala and the winters in Goa. Enquiries from Israeli tourists in the area are on once again.

Many foreign tourists also visit theDharamsala region to study in Tibetan institutions and monasteries. Most of these Tibetan institutes and monasteries had shut down due to the pandemic, but have now opened. Hence, tourism industry people are expecting that foreign tourists would start visiting againto enroll in these institutions.