Dharamshala, Dec. 24 -- The sounds of ringing phones in Himachal hotels is bringing back cautious optimism among the stakeholders. The tourism industry is expecting a much-needed breather as popular tourist destinations in the hill state are expected to witness increased footfall during Christmas and New Year. With the anticipated rise in tourist arrivals, hoteliers expect average hotel occupancy to go up in the coming days. However, stakeholders are also sceptical due to lack of snowfall, which could have otherwise attracted more visitors to the state. So far, only the higher reaches have witnessed light snowfall. The state's tourism industry had been struggling with low visitor numbers since May, which further declined during the monsoon season. Albeit, tourist footfall saw a slight increase from October onwards, the stakeholders are anticipating a good rise in footfall which will be a much-needed breather. Shimla hotels and tourism stakeholders' association president Mohinder Kumar Seth said, "We are hopeful of good business during Christmas and New Year. However, due to the lack of snowfall, tourist footfall may not be as high as it usually is at this time of year. For a few days, we expect average hotel occupancy to rise to around 70%, compared to the current 25-30%. The government should publicise the Shimla Winter Carnival on a larger scale to attract more tourists." Meanwhile, Ashwani Bamba, president of the Dharamshala hotel association, said, "We are receiving bookings from Christmas till New Year and also expect an increase in walk-in tourists. So far, hotel occupancy in December has remained around 20%, but we expect it to rise to about 50% during the Christmas and New Year period. Tourists from neighbouring states and the Delhi NCR are expected during this time. "After the slump during the monsoon, tourist footfall saw a slight increase from the third week of October, and in November, occupancy was around 30%. The anticipated rise in footfall is set to give a much-needed breather to the industry," he added. With the onset of the winter festive season, hoteliers and tourism stakeholders of Kullu-Manali are also set to welcome tourists for Christmas and New Year celebrations. President of the hoteliers association Manali, Roshan Thakur, said that they are expecting a rise in tourist numbers. "We are receiving queries from tourists and footfall has already begun to increase. Hotel occupancy is currently around 60-70%, and we expect it to rise to about 90% by New Year," he said. "Due to disasters during the monsoon season, road connectivity remained affected, and tourist footfall did not see much improvement in October and November as connectivity was not fully restored. 2025 has not been good for tourism stakeholders in Himachal but now there is an increase in footfall and we are expecting the momentum to continue in January and February," he added....