Mushrooming of illegal tourist accommodation units has become a bane for the tourism industry in Himachal Pradesh as it affects the genuine business establishments, say hoteliers in the hill state.

Though Manali is packed with tourist vehicles, it is not reflected in the room occupancy, said president of Manali Hoteliers’ Association Mukesh Thakur.

Illegal and unregistered units are offering huge discounts on rooms which the hotels paying taxes cannot compete with, he added.

Thakur said illegal structures awaiting regularisation are selling rooms online, creating unhealthy competition, while units not registered with government departments or registered under HomeStay and Bed and Breakfast (BandB) are operating through online portals.

A large number of people from outside the state also have taken properties on lease and are running accommodations as tourism units without registration, he told PTI.

The tourism/hotel associations claimed that about 9,000-10,000 unauthorised rooms are available in Manali and Shimla.

Tariffs of registered hotels are fixed by the Tourism Department but online operators are booking rooms in private flats, homes, bungalows, villas and misleading the tourists by giving discounts, It is hitting the hotel industry hard, lamented M K Seth of Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association.

As per the guidelines, the homestay units can have a maximum of three rooms while six rooms are allowed under the BandB scheme but these and norms are flouted with impunity, he said.

Officials of the tourism department maintained that it is difficult to search illegal accommodations as intrusion into any private premises without solid evidence would tantamount to trespass and the owners can easily claim that the people staying in the accommodation are their personal guests.

We take action on specific complaints after enquiring into the allegations as running homestays and hotel units without registration is an offense, they added. PTI BPL AQS AQS

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