KASHMIR, KERALA TROUBLES FUEL NORTH BENGAL RUSH Puja boom signal for tourism 0

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, 4 Sept 2019, Siliguri: An "unprecedented rush" of tourists is expected in the Darjeeling hills, Sikkim and the Dooars this Puja and Diwali, as visitors stay off a lockdown-smothered Jammu and Kashmir and flood-wracked Kerala 

"Right from the private hotels to government accommodations, around 90 per cent of the rooms have been booked from October 1 till Diwali. Even homestay, most of which are in rural pockets, have recorded bookings of around 85 per cent," said Sajal Sarkar, the assistant director of state tourism department posted in Siliguri 

Subhasish Chakraborty, a veteran in travel trade in the region, pointed out that, a large number of tourists used to visit Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Kerala earlier. But this time, the situation is different and tourists from other states are shifting to north Bengal. 

Also, this is the second major season after summer when tourists from Bangladesh will be visiting Sikkim as their entry has been allowed by the central government at the end of last year. 

In total, there are over 20,000 rooms available here for tourists. This means, around 40,000 people will stay on any day in the region during the season. 

"There is a boom in the sector but simultaneously, it is a major responsibility for all of us to ensure that none of these tourists face any inconvenience. Many of us are exploring new destinations and also offering new itineraries to tourists so that there is no overcrowding in common destinations," said Chakraborty 

The high rate of booking has also brought cheers for homestay owners 

Raj Basu, the convener of Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT), said: "We have 1,335 homestay owners as our members. Apart from these, there are another 1,500 homestay facilities in the region, including Sikkim. The information we have so far shows that they have got good bookings till Diwali, which shows that a major section of tourists are now preferring offbeat locations," said Basu 

The tourism department plans helpdesks for tourists at transit points like NJP station, Bagdogra airport and Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus in Siliguri 

"We are also working on projects to develop new destinations in places like Rangbool (near Sonada), at Holong in Madarihat and at Chalsa in Jalpaiguri. This would help tourists to explore more options," said state tourism minister Gautam Deb.