SHIMLA: The Hoteliers convened a joint meeting of the Tourism Industry stakeholders and the Shimla Hotel Association at Hotel Marina today and formed their joint body- Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders Association (SHTSA).
Even as the HP Tourism officials have claim that the Himachal has recorded a received a record One Crore tourists till June this year- which is the highest in the last five years in Himachal.
Hoteliers say that Himachal Tourism has been pushed into the deep crisis due the floods as over 70K tourists were evacuated from the state during the floods that breached roads and other infrastructure.
The meeting here addressed the pressing issues plaguing the Tourism Industry in Himachal Pradesh, which have pushed the sector into a tailspin, ravaged by recent floods.
One of the major concerns highlighted during the meeting was the increasing burden of taxes on the hotel industry, making it financially unviable.
Besides this, the state's highest tariff on water, steep property taxes, and rising garbage fees have further escalated the challenges faced by the industry, they rued.
"We will take up the issues with Chief Minister Shortly", they asserted.
The tourism sector in Himachal Pradesh has been grappling with these issues for over five years, resulting in a significant decline in tourist activity.
The association, now unified as Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders Association (SHTSA), has formed a new executive committee to collectively address the problems with the government.
The newly elected President of SHTSA, Mohinder Seth, expressed SHTSA's commitment to presenting the industry's concerns to the government with a united voice.
Alongside him, Vice Presidents Prince Kukreja and Neeraj Gupta, General Secretary Baljeet Singh, and Joint Secretaries Tarun Bakshi and Harish Malhotra will play vital roles in representing the association's interests.
Rajeev Aggarwal has been appointed as the Treasurer, while Sanjay Thakur, Anil Walia, Partap Chauhan, Anil Bhardwaj, Ashwani Sood, Ravinder Bhardwaj, Rahul Chawla, and Sunil Bamba will serve as Advisors and Executive Members to the new body.
The Executive Committee, armed with a unified approach, is determined to collaborate with the government to find effective solutions to rejuvenate the struggling tourism industry in Himachal Pradesh.