70% of the hotels in upper Dharamsala are up for sale or lease as tourist numbers decline
Many hotels in upper Dharamsala, including McLeodganj, Bhagsunag, and Naddi, are being forced to list their properties for sale or lease because to a decline in tourist traffic since the 2020 COVID epidemic. Approximately 70% of the properties in McLeodganj and Bhagsunag are available for lease, according to information gathered from hoteliers.
The hotels reported a large decrease in leasing rates as well. There weren’t many people interested in the hotels that were formerly leased for Rs 3 lakh per room annually; instead, they were offered for only Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh per room annually. A lot of hotel owners had listed their properties for sale, and social media was flooded with these kinds of posts.
The Kangra Hotel and Restaurant Association President, Ashwani Bamba, said that a number of hotel properties in McLeodganj and Bhagsunag were being offered for sale or lease. He said that during the epidemic, a large number of properties became non-performing assets (NPAs). Due to the decline in tourism in the area, the owners of these houses still had severe debts to pay off.
According to those in the tourist sector, traffic congestion is a regular occurrence on several highways in the McLeodganj region. Many routes, including the ancient camel road, the Dharamkot-Naddi road, and the Bhagsunag-Indrunag road, had remained unfinished for the last seven years, and despite pleas to the relevant authorities, they were not being worked on, they said.
A lot of individuals also attributed the decline in tourism to the fewer foreign visitors coming in after the outbreak. Due to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government’s presence, McLeodganj—also known as Little Lhasa—saw a large influx of international visitors. A location in upper Dharamsala known as Dharamkot was a popular tourist destination for Israelis. However, the number of international visitors to the region has almost stopped since the COVID outbreak and the current Israel conflict.
