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. However, the numbers are still half of what were recorded before the Covid pandemic--around 12 lakh tourists in 2019. 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 to 1.89 lakh. Though the rise in Kangra's tourist footfall was evident since January, a significant increase was witnessed in May andJune. According to data shared by the tourism department, Kangra recorded around 1.25 lakh domestic tourist arrivals and 3,544 foreign tourist arrivals in May this year, compared to approximately 65,000 domestic and 1,750 foreign tourist arrivals in May 2025. Similarly, domestic tourist arrivals rose to 1.53 lakh in June this year from 1.15 lakh in the corresponding month lastyear. Foreign tourist arrivals also increased to 2,012 in June this year from 1,808 in June 2025. Industry stakeholders attribute the boom to redirected domestic travel caused by ongoing West Asia conflicts. Kangra district tourism development officer Vinay Dhiman said, "The war-like situation in West Asia made domestic tourists apprehensive about travelling abroad, which had a positive impact on the tourism industry here. We have also seen a positive trend in other hill stations." "Despite the war-like situation, foreign tourist arrivals also saw a positive trend this year. The number of foreigner arrivals would have been even higher had there been no conflict in West Asia. The tourism industry has seen a major boost so far this year," he said. Foreigners in large numbers throng Dharamshala and McLeodganj where the 14th Dalai Lama resides. Dharamshala is also emerging as a sports tourism destination with Indian Premier League and international cricket matches being played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in the city, often dubbed one of the world's most beautiful cricket venues. Kangra also boasts of Bir Billing, the paragliding capital of India. Meanwhile, Dharamshala Hotel Association president Ashwani Bamba said, "For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have witnessed such a boom in tourism. The West Asia conflict was a major factor driving domestic tourist arrivals. Due to the prevailing situation in recent months, many tourists chose to travel within the country rather than go abroad." "The condition of the roads is a major concern for us. The roads connecting Dharamshala to McLeodganj have been in poor condition since last year and have not been properly repaired, causing inconvenience to tourists. We have raised the issue at various levels, but nothing has beendone. If we want tourists to continue coming here, we must provide good infrastructure," he added....