Scurry to bring hill tourists

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Siliguri, Sept. 27: Tour operators in the Darjeeling hills have started contacting their counterparts in other parts of India in a bid to bring visitors to the region ahead of Diwali following the withdrawal of the general strike.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president, Bimal Gurung, had said last night that the shutdown would be lifted from this morning after Union home minister Rajnath Singh had said the Centre would hold tripartite talks on "all issues" related to Darjeeling.

The strike that stretched over 100 days had taken its toll on the tourism industry which is the backbone of Darjeeling's economy.

The withdrawal of the strike in the middle of the Puja festivities has raised hopes among the tourism stakeholders that some tourists could be brought to the hills ahead of Diwali.

The stakeholders, right from tour operators to hoteliers and transporters, have started calling up tourists and their trade partners in other parts of India and abroad to inform them about the development with an assurance that "all is well" in Darjeeling now.

"Since this morning, most of us have been in constant touch with representatives of national bodies of tourism sector. They are also sending mails and making posts in the social media to encourage domestic and international tourists to start visiting Darjeeling again," Samrat Sanyal, a veteran in the travel trade of north Bengal, said.

Across the hills, hoteliers have started readying their properties and are calling back a section of employees, who had left for homes because of the shutdown.

"It would take at least seven to 10 days to get hotels ready. The rooms need to be prepared, the stocks need to be replenished and the required manpower should be there at hotels to ensure proper services for guests. We are expecting some inflow of tourists to the Darjeeling hills after a week or so," said a hotelier based in Darjeeling.

The tour operators said they were exploring multiple options.

"There are some tourists who have changed their itinerary and are visiting Sikkim and the Dooars now. We have already received queries from them as those in Sikkim want to spend a day or two in Darjeeling following the withdrawal of the strike. Those in the Dooars want to travel to places like Lava, Loleygaon, Jaldhaka and similar areas of Kalimpong," said a tour operator.

Besides, the tour operators' associations have started contacting prospective tourists who had earlier made queries for a visit to the hills, but later changed their plans following the announcement of the strike.

"We are hopeful that a section of those people would respond to our invitation to visit the hills . Our aim is to disseminate the message across the country and overseas that normality has been restored in the hills," said Jayanta Majumdar, a Siliguri-based transporter.

Yesterday, state tourism minister Gautam Deb himself had welcomed tourists at New Jalpaiguri railway station.

"The minister's presence has bolstered our confidence and sent a positive message to tourists who are already into a trip to the region and those who plan to visit north Bengal," said Sandipan Ghosh, the secretary of the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators' Association.

He said the withdrawal of strike would at least save the industry from incurring further losses.

"We felt it necessary to take such initiatives to revive the brand Darjeeling. Had we remained silent, it would have left some confusion in the back of the minds of prospective travellers even after the withdrawal of the strike," Ghosh said.

Hoteliers in the Dooars and Sikkim are also elated over the withdrawal of the strike.

"Because of the shutdown in Darjeeling, we had also faced cancellations as most tourists wanted to visit Darjeeling while planning a trip to the Dooars or Sikkim. Now that the strike has been called off, we hope a section of tourists, who had cancelled their trips, will give a second thought," a resort owner of Madarihat, located close to Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Alipurduar district, said.