Dharamshala, July 27 -- With hotels filling up, cafes bustling and tourist hotspots teeming with visitors, Kangra's tourism sector is leaving its pandemic blues behind. The district recorded over six lakh visitors in the first half of 2026--the highest since Covid-19 disrupted travel, putting it firmly on the road to its pre-pandemic peak.

The 2026 footfall is sharp rise from 4.7 lakh visitors in 2025, 4.6 lakh in 2024, and 3.3 lakh in 2023.

Once a favourite among international tourists, Himachal, a picturesque hill state, saw a significant decline in tourist numbers after the Covid-19 outbreak. Tourist arrivals during the first six months of 2020 hit a low of 1.59 lakh and dropped further to 1.02 lakh in 2021. In 2022, arrivals jumped ...