ONCE-POPULAR YUKSOM SEES DIP IN TOURIST NUMBERS `Cold comfort' for Sikkim hotspot

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, 5 Dec 2018,  Yuksom (West Sikkim): Even as the rest of Sikkim revels at the spectacular surge of tourists, this little village tucked in a corner near the border with Nepal is ruing the sharp fall in the number of visitors to a spot which has the honour of being the first capital of this former Himalayan kingdom.

Located 140km from Gangtok, Yuksom is the base camp from where trekking expeditions to the Kanchenjungha begin. Till about five years, as many as 30,000 tourists, mostly avid trekkers, used to touch base here annually. "A combination of fac- tors has resulted in the sharp fall of tourists coming to Yuksom. From about 30,000 arrivals till five years ago, the figure has come down as low as 10,000 annually," rued Nawang Gyatso Bhutia, the owner of Alpine Exodus Tours and Travels.

The figures provided by Bhutia could not be independently corroborated in the absence of official data, but others agreed that there has been a steep fall in tourist numbers. "Since the majority of the tourists coming here are trekkers, the absence of adequate safety meas- ures along the trekking route and cost escalation are some of the factors for the decline," said D. B. Chhteri, a member of Yuksom Tourism Development Committee.

Trekking agencies said the charges depend on the tour operators and the services offered, but roughly the cost of a seven-day trek has gone up from Rs 2,100 per day per person five years back to Rs 3,500 now.

Sonam Norgay Lachungpa, the president of Travel Agent Association of Sikkim, said another reason for the fall could be the rise in competition from other Himalayan states and Nepal.