Mussoorie tops the chart

rajugusain

Mussoorie tops the chart

Raju Gusain
Mussoorie, June 23
The Indian Himalayas, with many famous hill stations in their kitty, form a tempting destination for tourists in India. Ladakh, Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Nainital, Darjeeling, Srinagar, Gulmarg and Sonmarg are
among the most visited retreats.

The annual tourism data, collected through various state tourism departments, clearly indicates that the most popular hill station in the Indian Himalayas are not Shimla, Kullu or Darjeeling but Mussoorie.

In 2005, Mussoorie received 20.66 lakh, Shimla 18.22 lakh, Kullu-Manali (jointly) 17.08 lakh, Kashmir valley 6.05 lakh, Nainital 5.17 lakh, Darjeeling 4.27 lakh , and Ladakh 38,446 guests. The lure of this hill station in Uttaranchal is also proved by the fact that in Himachal Pradesh, tourism data is compiled district wise. Whereas in Uttaranchal it is being done individual destination wise.

In 1958, the 'Queen of the Hills', as Mussoorie is popularly known, got 1.51 lakh guests. In 1966, it touched the three lakh mark and gradually the inflow of visitors began to increase. In 1986, it recorded 10 lakh tourists and in 2002 the figure crossed the magical 20 lakh mark.

GS Manchanda, Secretary of the Mussoorie Hotel Association, says, "Now Mussoorie has emerged as a popular choice among the middle and lower middle-class Indians. At the present, visitors mostly come here for
the weekend and their visit is short."

In the 80's, Mussoorie witnessed the 'Maruti boom', as it was popularly called, and many development activities related to tourism took place here. Many new hotels were established and people, especially from the neighboring states started visiting the spot.
The trend of arrivals witnessed a major change after India's first affordable car, the Maruti, rolled out on to the Indian roads to give a new definition to family transportation in the country. In the 50s,
the annual turnout of visitors here used to be below 2 lakh and now it has grown tenfold to cross 20 lakh.
After that came the big family vehicles including Tata Sumo, Qualis and a host of new models, that made transportation cheaper per individual. This has further boosted domestic tourism.
Now, every Thursday and Friday, one can spot a fleet of cars from Delhi, HP and adjoining states plying the zigzag roads from Dehra Dun to the hill station.

On this growing fame, Subhash Goyal, President of Indian Association of Tour Operators, told HT over the phone line, "Mussoorie is getting the benefit of proximity to New Delhi. Now a large number of visitors
from Haryana, New Delhi, Punjab and UP flock to the hill resort. Presently, there is a new zeal among Indians for travel. Affordable cars and increase in disposable income have totally changed the Indian
domestic tourism scene."

Hindustan Times
June 24, 2006
New Delhi edition (Late city)

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TimMakins

Yes, its true that hill-stations have changed a LOT since the introduction of the Maruti and the Sumo. Its almost hard to believe that as recently as the early nineties, the Ambassador was still the only car on Indian roads!, and relatively few would make it to the higher altittudes. I was in Darjeeling, Nainital and Shimla last summer, and was staggered to see the crowds there, compared to past years. Haven't been to Mussoorie for a few years now, and am now rather wary of going back to see what has happened to the place! Still, lovers of the peace and quiet that the Himalaya is so famous for need not despair - there are still plenty of smaller hill-stations left to enjoy.

I better not mention them, though, in case a Sumo-owner is reading this!

Tim in Ireland

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Travelling Tim - http://www.mapability.com/blogs/

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

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Photo: Tourist on pony back at Mussoorie's mall road (Photo: Abhey Rajan/ HT)