Bright and sunny days have come as a respite to the tourism industry in the hills, especially Shimla as the warmer days in comparison to plains in Punjab and and Haryana have started bringing tourist to this Hill destination.
As fog has started disturbing life in Punjab and Haryana with a dip in the minimum temperature, Shimla and Dharamshala have still been witnessing warmer days with clear sky.
As per the meteorology department, the minimum temperature in Himachal Pradesh is two to three degrees above than normal, due to clear sky.
Manmohan Singh, Director, Shimla Meteorology Department said the minimum temperature in Shimla was recorded at 11 degree Celsius on Wednesday while in Dharamshala it remained 10.4 degrees.
Both these hill stations recorded warmer nights then even chandigarh where the Mercury dipped to 8.8 degree Celsius on Wednesday night.
While Amritsar in Punjab and Narnaul in Haryana remained cold with 7.7 degree and 5.5 degree respectively, the tourist spot Manali in Himachal Pradesh recorded minimum temperature of 2.8 degrees Celsius. Although the mercury in the state has touched minus 1.3 degrees in Keylong in lahaul-Spiti district.
The bright and warmer days in tourist areas have given the much needed push to the tourism industry in hills, which was facing severe depression after the central government's move of demonetisation.
Busy Mall Road and Ridge in Shimla, on Wednesday gave a clear reflection of tourists rush to Shimla.
Mohinder Seth, President, Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association said the gloom in the tourism sector is still persistent but the warmer days seem to be making some scope for revival of activity in tourism. He said, tourists from nearby plains have been coming but advance bookings in hotels are still quite less.
Hoteliers are pinning their hopes on the tourism department to release advertisements in other States and lure tourists to set the wheel turning once again.