Dharamshala, Oct. 11 -- The early snowfall in the higher reaches of Himachal has revived hopes for a good winter tourism season with stakeholders expecting more snowfall to boost tourist arrivals. The state's tourism industry has been grappling with low footfall since May, which further declined during the monsoon. Now, with the higher regions receiving fresh snowfall, there is renewed hope that more snow in the coming months will draw tourists in large numbers. Notably, due to scanty snowfall last winter, hotel occupancy remained low. The tourism footfall also saw a significant decline in Himachal following Operation Sindoor in May and later during the monsoon season. Shimla hotels and tourism stakeholders' association president Mohinder Kumar Seth said that hotel occupancy is still hovering around only 10-15%. "We are hopeful of a good winter season this year, as we expect more snowfall, which will eventually bring more tourists. Once snowfall occurs in destinations like Kufri and Narkanda, it willdefinitely give a boost to tourism." "Tourists from Bengal and Gujarat usually visit around Diwali, but this time the numbers are low. Due to the recent floods in Bengal, several bookings have also been cancelled. Now we are pinning our hopes on the winter snowfall to attract tourists in large numbers. Last winter saw scant snowfall, but the early snowfall in the higher reaches this year has raised hopes for a good season ahead. Shimla is the safest destination in Himachal and has a world heritage train connectivity.The highway from Shimla to Parwanoo is also now safe for driving throughout the year," he added. The tourism in Kullu-Manali remained severely affected during monsoon season. The Chandigarh-Manali national highway had suffered extensive damage at several stretches due to the overflowing Beas river and landslidestriggered by heavy monsoon rains. The inclement weather and the closure of the highway had given a blow to the hospitality industry. Kullu-Manali Paryatan Vikas Mandal chief Anup Thakur said that tourism remained affected during the monsoon season as natural disasters disrupted connectivity. "Now, hopes are high that snowfall will revive the tourism sector. The early snowfall in the higher reaches has rekindled hopes for a good season this year. We have already started receiving enquiries from tourists. Since snowfall is the main attraction here, we expect more visitors in the coming weeks," he said. Meanwhile, in Dharamshala, hoteliers are expecting tourist footfall to rise aroundDiwali. "The recent snowfall in the higher reaches has not had much impact on tourist arrivals in this region. Hotel occupancy is still around 15%. However, we expect the footfall to increase around Diwali. Mostly the tourists from Gujarat and Maharashtra visit during this period," said Ashwani Bamba, president of the Dharamshala Hotel Association....