Global Recession melts Himachal's heliskiing Business


Posted on 25th Feb 2015 03:21 pm by mohit kumar

Manali, Feb 25 (IANS) The global financial meltdown and uncertainty has severely hit the heliskiing industry in this picturesque tourist resort in Himachal Pradesh, known for powder skiing. This winter, a majority of skiers from Europe and Russia cancelled their bookings.

The gloomy economic outlook in Europe and the falling rouble have discouraged people from travelling overseas, Himalayan Heli Adventures Pvt Ltd director Manjeev Bhalla told IANS.

The company has been conducting heliskiing in the western Himalayas, overlooking this town, since 1990.

It takes the skiers by helicopters to mountaintops like Hamta, Brighu, Deo Tibba and Rohtang, which are otherwise almost impossible to reach, and offer a variety of exposures - both with or against the sun - amidst beautiful deodar and cedar forests.

The pistes (marked ski runs) are a 10-to-15 minute flight from Manali.

The season, which begins in February and lasts till March, saw bookings down between 50 and 60 percent compared to the last season, which was already lean.

Bhalla said the skiing business has shrunk to six weeks from eight to nine weeks.

"We got just around 50 skiers against 112 last year," he said.

He said the major threat to the Indian skiing business was from Russia.

"The falling rouble escalates the package costs here and has discouraged people from travelling overseas," he said.

Secondly, he said, the impact of the financial crisis in Greece over the whole of Europe has created a crisis and uncertainty. People don't want to spend and prefer staying home to save money.

According to Bhalla, high-end skiers from the US prefer to opt Canada owing to top-class infrastructure and facilities. "Moreover, there is no government backup in case of the downturn and lengthy clearance procedures," he said.

The company, with an experience of 25 years in heliskiing, did good business between 1996 and 2006, before the onset of the global economic turmoil.

Currently, the company charges 7,575 euro (Rs. 534,513) per head for a seven-day package, which is too expensive for an Indian skier.

Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir and Auli in Uttarakhand are the other options for heliskiing aficionados.

This winter, Manali's slopes have bountiful snow compared to Gulmarg and Auli, say skiing organisers.

More snow is expected in the next few days. "A blanket of snow will remain here till March-end," said a local skier.

"Manali slopes are one of the best slopes with steep pistes and deep too. Here, snow tends to be of low moisture content and marvellous," Japanese skier Naoko Takahashi told IANS.

Members of the hospitality industry say Manali and nearby destinations, which otherwise get a large chunk of foreigners, are likely to see a decline in business the forthcoming season.

The foreigners, a tour operator said, mainly the Russians, were also missing from Goa this winter.

The tour operator said if there was noticeable decline in the footfall of the overseas tourists in Goa its effect might be seen in Manali too.

Backpackers, especially from the US, Britain, Italy, France and Germany, descend on Manali from August to September every year. Most of them prefer to drive down the Manali-Leh highway. Mountaineering also remains an ever-popular activity.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

0 Like 0 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

Three big decisions of Modi government against Canada, read why rift broke out between the two countries in 72 hours

India Canada Row. The tensions between India and Canada are increasing with each passing time. Re

More than 1.60 lakh patients were found for the second consecutive day; Active case crosses 12.5 lakhs, increasing to over 6.78 lakhs in 12 days

The pace of Corona in the country is frightening. On Monday, 1 lakh 60 thousand 694 new patients

Ambani-Pichai saw together at Lord's: Speculations on investing in 'The Hundred' cricket league, Reliance already owns three T20 teams

Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri on Tuesday shared a photo with Reliance Industries Chairman

Chandrayaan - 3: Tilak of 'moon' on the forehead of India, the journey of 41 days was like this; The world said - 'India has power'

The Lander Module (LM) of ISRO's ambitious mission Chandrayaan-3 scripted a new definition of suc

Sikkim Flood: Relief Commissioner of Sikkim visited the disaster-affected areas of Mangan district, took stock of the damage

Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management Department and Relief Commissioner MT Sherpa on Thur

GST Council 46th Meeting: Increase in GST rate on clothes postponed, this big decision taken regarding footwear

The 46th meeting of the GST Council under the leadership of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithar

RCB vs LSG Playing 11: Will Rahul enter as an impact player again? Topley may get a place in RCB

Lucknow Supergiants' regular captain KL Rahul took the field as an impact player in the last matc

China changed the name of the Arunachal area, Akhilesh said - learned from Yogi only

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav has taken a jibe at UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath fo

Ukraine took back Kherson city from Russian troops, President Zelensky said – this is the beginning of the end of the war

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the recently liberated city of Kherson. This i

Hera Pheri 3: Suniel Shetty spoke on Paresh Rawal's return in 'Hera Pheri 3', said- 'Fine-tuning has been done...'

The audience is eagerly waiting for 'Hera Pheri 3'. The film has been in constant discussion for

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash