Tourist flow resumes

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, 23 December 2019, Siliguri: A sudden dip in mercury and resumption of all major train services have brought smiles in the faces oft hose associated with travel trade in the region as tourists have started pouring into north Bengal.

“ It seems the tourism sec-tor here has finally managed to come out of the impact of the recent protests and violence.Even three-four days back, situation was gloomy as trains were not available and people were cancelling their trips.But for past couple of days, the situation has changed. Trains have started moving again and hundreds of tourists are arriving. We are expecting a good winter season, ” said Samrat Sanyal, general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality &Tourism Development Net-work.After the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed,the region witnessed protests that led to ransacking of some railway stations following which the railways suspended train services. Mostly the trains which connect Calcutta with south India, north Bengal and the Northeast were affected. As a result, several tourists, who were here on a trip, got stranded and others- who had planned trips to-wards December end or in the beginning of January - cancelled their plans..

“Non-availability of trains had foiled the trips of many tourists. Most of them were forced to cancel their trips as flight fares had soared and bus tickets were hardly available. Otherwise, we would have got more tourists in the hills and in the Dooars during the winters," said Sandipan Ghosh, general secretary of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators' Association.

The tourists, he pointed, got further enchanted as snowfall was reported in some upper reaches of Sikkim and also at Sandakphu in the Darjeeling hills. "This dip in temperature is drawing more tourists. Even those who reside in the plains of north Bengal are planning trips to the hills to enjoy the chill and with the expectation of a sudden bout of snowfall," said a hotel owner based in Siliguri.

Also, some of the tourists who had cancelled their trips owing to protests and violence on CAA are making fresh inquiries about availability of rooms and transport, he added.