Dharamshala, May 16 -- Dropped during Covid, the number of international arrivals in Himachal have still not reached the pre-pandemic levels. The stakeholders have attributed the sluggishness to ongoing global conflict, and emergence of southeast asian countries as new tourist hubs. Kangra district tourism development officer, Vinay Dhiman, said, "The recovery has been taking place gradually over the years, but the number still remains lower than the pre-pandemic period. After the pandemic, several southeast asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia introduced new tourism models to attract more foreign tourists. They brought significant changes to their hospitality industries, which is one of the reasons the trend has shifted." In 2025, the foreign tourists arrival in Himachal reached 84,828, marginally higher than the 82,765 recorded in 2024, but still nearly 80% below than 2019 that saw the arrival of 3,82,876 foreign tourists, according to estimates from the tourist department. The international footfall, however, has shown a gradual recovery over the years after dipping sharply during the pandemic. Foreign tourist arrivals increased from 4,832 in 2021 to 29,333 in 2022 to 62,806 in 2023. In 2020, before the lockdown, 42,665 tourists visited Himachal. Out of the total arrival in 2025, Kangra recorded the highest number with 29,755, followed by Shimla with 26,887 and Kullu with 10,587. A significant number of international visitors flock to Dharamshala and McLeodganj in Kangra, where the 14th Dalai Lama resides. Dharamshala is also emerging as a major sports tourism destination, with Indian Premier League and international cricket matches being held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, often regarded as one of the world's most picturesque cricket venues. Kangra is also home to Bir Billing, known as the paragliding capital of India. Ashwani Bamba, president of the Dharamshala hotel and restaurant association, said, "Several factors have affected international travel in recent years, including ongoing global conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict. This year, another conflict in West Asia also created tensions in the region. We have observed a decline in Israeli tourists, who were once frequent visitors. Additionally, the number of Russian tourists has also decreased compared to previous years." "While we were recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, recurring extreme weather events in the state during the monsoon caused massive damage to road infrastructure. A large number of foreign tourists travel to Ladakh via the Kullu-Manali route during August and September, but disrupted connectivity affected the movement. Improving connectivity should be the key priority," he added....