Shimla, Dec 30 - The cold wave has temporarily eased its grip on Himachal Pradesh which is all set to welcome tourists from the plains of north India.

According to tourism industry representatives here, snowfall in December is almost a myth now. Promoting the hill station as a 'warm' destination is the new mantra.

"Now we are asking the tourists, especially from northern Indian states, to come and enjoy the mellow sunshine in the hills. As the sun eludes the residents in the plains for hours due to dense fog, a bright morning in the hills is really an added attraction for tourists," K. D. Sharma, deputy general manager of Holiday Home Hotel here, told IANS.

He said that even the tourists are keen to enjoy their holiday in the cosy winter.

"Now the Indian tourists are following the footsteps of Western and European tourists. They are coming here in this season just to enjoy basking in the sun," he added.

Shimla's meteorological director Manmohan Singh said that the popular tourist destinations Shimla, Kasauli, Dharamsala, Manali, Chamba and Dalhousie have been experiencing 'warmer' days and nights than most of the cities in the plains.

Towns in the plains like Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Ambala, Karnal and Delhi have been recording lower temperatures during the night and early morning hours than most of the places in the hills.

Amritsar continued to be the coldest in the region as it recorded a minimum temperature of 0.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday morning.

"Shimla has been recording a minimum temperature of around 4 degrees Celsius during the past one week," he said.

Similarly, Chandigarh saw the mercury settling at a minimum of 3.8 degrees Celsius Wednesday against Monday's low of 3.2 degrees.

Ludhiana observed a minimum temperature of 3.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday, higher than Tuesday's 3 degrees.

Singh said the minimum temperature of this tourist town was high due to long, bright sunny days.

"The temperatures in the plains are well within the normal limits, but in the hills, the minimum temperatures are 3-4 degrees above normal," he said.

In the tribal districts of the hill state, the minimum temperature also rose.

Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti district, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, while Kalpa in Kinnaur district was at minus 4.6 degrees, a rise of 1.9 degrees and 0.9 degrees respectively, from Tuesday's temperature.

Priyanka Jain, a tourist from Delhi, said: "Every year we come especially to Shimla during winter to enjoy long sunny days. Of course, this town is warmer than Delhi."

Last year, 9.37 million domestic and 367,000 foreign tourists visited Himachal Pradesh. Kullu and Manali are hot spots followed by Shimla and Dharamsala.

Tourist arrivals in Himachal Pradesh last year surpassed the state's population of about 6.5 million. (IANS)