Darj gets a Christmas gift; tourists flock back in droves.... 700 rooms have already been booked

REZA PRADHAN, SNS, DARJEELING, 24 DECEMBER 2017: Winter has arrived in full Force, markets are full of Darjeeling oranges, and carols sung in harmony fill the night air, we know Christmas, the 'most wonderful time of the year,' is here again.

And unlike all the previous years, this festive season seems to hold more importance this year in the Hills, especially after the almost Four-month-long statehood agitation that paralysed normal life and severely hit the tourism and tea industries, the mainstay of the economy here.

Despite the odds, the Christmas season has after all managed to lure tourists to the Queen of Hills, with those related to the tourism industry saying that they are seeing welcome signs and a "ray of hope" for the ailing industry and hotels here, which saw almost no bookings until some days ago.

Darjeeling always manages to get a good flow of tourists from the first week of December up to the second week of January for Christmas and New Year. However, tour operators have said that the bookings were 90 percent down this year, as compared to the same period last year, thanks to the recent Gorkhaland agitation.

However, they are back, and to mists are arriving in sizable numbers, even though if it is comparatively less than last year, with restaurants and hotels lining up special cuisines and events for them like every year.

"Tourists are coining back and that is a welcome sign, we have about 70 percent occupancy in the 60 rooms that we have right up to January 31. Darjeeling has again proved that it is popular among tourists," said the manager of hotel Anand Palace, Rajesh Rajak.

Adding to that, the business development manager of an online hotel booking portal, Samrat Adhikari, of Kolkata said, 'We cater to about 240 hotels in Darjeeling, and from 24 December to 1 January, 700 rooms have already been booked by our clients They were all interested in visiting Darjeeling.

"The number is less as compared to last year's 1,200 rooms for this period, but all these bookings were done just two-three days ago."

Another popular hotel here, the Elgin Resort, which has 25 rooms, is also all packed till the first week of January

"These are our regular customers who do not miss Christmas and New Year at all. While some have been coming back for five years or so, there are some who have been visiting us for the past 14 years or so with most of them being foreigners," said the manager of the hotel, Badal Majumdar.

As it tries to spread the festive cheer, the hotel has lined up a special menu for Christmas and New Year, including various salads like Cabbage walnut salad.Russian salad, along with roast lamb, roast pork with apple, grilled fish and plum pudding with brandy sauce, among others, along with complimentary wine.

"We also have carol singing for the guests today and tomorrow, along with bonfires, cultural programmes and cocktails. On New Year, we have a local DJ performing for the guests," Mr Badal said.

If hotels have lined up such a menu, the age-old bakery here, Glenary's, is offering its traditional cakes in the bakery section.

"We have concentrated mostly on our bakery section with our traditional cakes, including plum cake and Christmas cake, for which preparations started two months ago, with the raisins being preserved in brandy. Apart from that, there are items like special pudding, liquor chocolates, along with mince pies," said Ajay Edwards, the proprietor of Glenary's, who further said that the sales were similar to last year with his restaurant also packed, but not like last year when they had to shut their gates for dinner as they were not able to cater to the flood of tourists.

On the other hand, restaurants like Park Hotel, one of the popular hotels here, have lined up a special menu for Christmas that boasts of Pan-Asian cuisines like Thai dishes Chicken Taipei, Fish Chilly Jam, Dim Sum, Tamarind Egg and Chinese dishes like roast pot chicken in herbs among various other things.

"We were not hoping that tourists would turn up, but looking at the recent trend they are coming back and it is good for us," said Park Hotel proprietor Deep Arora.

The Yuletide spirit seems to be full on at churches too. "This year, Christmas Eve will be a little different as we are also observing our 125th anniversary from December 9th on wards.

The Mass will be held as usual, but new hymns will be sung along with carols by children and women," said the provincial of the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception Church.

"It is very cold here, but I love it during this time of the year, as it's a different kind of feeling altogether," a tourist from Kolkata, Tithi Das, said.