Nepal unrest casts shadow on Darj tourism industry

Hardly any tourist can be seen nowadays in Darjeeling’s
Chowrasta. SUMAN BARAILY

Amitava Banerjee, HT, 6 Dec 2015, Kolkata: The ongoing unrest in Nepal has cast a shadow on the tourism industry of this region resulting in a sharp drop in the peak October traffic.

The tourism industry is now pinning hopes on the Christmas and New Year season.

However, with threats of a political unrest looming large, that too could turn out to be a major disappointment.

“This year, the October season traffic was 40% less than last year. The ongoing unrest in Nepal is a major cause. Usually, we get domestic tourists from Gujarat and Maharashtra during October. Their tour circuit usually includes Nepal. The Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu is a major attraction among the Gujarat and Maharashtra tourists. With Nepal out of bounds, most of the tourists have cancelled their trip to Darjeeling,” said Pradip Tamang, secretary, Darjeeling Association of Travel Agents (DATA). A major unrest has gripped Nepal since the promulgation of a Constitution in September this year. Nepal’s Madhesi community, who are Indian citizens, are holding protest marches alleging that the Himalayan nation’s new Constitution discriminates against them.

“We hardly had any tourist from Maharashtra and Gujarat during October. Our hotel, which is usually packed during October, witnessed three days of rush this month. We are now banking on the Christmas to New Year season. There are lots of inquiries for that period. We hope to make up to an extent during that time” stated Gyaltsen Lama, manager of a star category hotel of Darjeeling.

Every year, more than 25,000 foreign tourists and around three lakh domestic tourists visit Darjeeling. “Business has been down in October. Adding to Nepal, threats of political disturbances in this region too has further worsened the situation. People want peace. There are ample options these days. Tourists opt for places where they can holiday in peace,” said hotelier Bishwajit Saha.

Along with the rest of the travel and tour industry of this region, he too is banking on the winter season (Christmas to the first week of January).

“The pre-Christmas tourist flow may not be encouraging till now but usually all the hotels remain packed during that time. A lot of tourists come in from nearby places like Kolkata and Assam. We have got a lot of inquiries,” added Saha.

However, political parties should abstain from calling any bandh for the winter tourist season to see a good flow of tourists. Already, the trade union affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has called a 12-hour bandh in the Hills on December 10.

“Any political interference at this point could be a major blow not only to the big hotels but also to ordinary people who are trying to make a living by promoting home stays in far flung villages. Our sincere appeal is that tourism should be kept outside the purview of bandhs or any other political exercise,” said Raj Basu, convenor, Association for Conservation and Tourism.