Stakeholders appeal for tourist inflow In north Bengal, other than the tea industry, tourism gives jobs to lakhs, but it has been badly hit amid the pandemic

Bireswar Banerjee   |   TT   |    Siliguri   |   02.09.20  :   Tourism industry stakeholders in north Bengal held “silent demonstrations” on Tuesday for tourist movement to resume immediately in the hills and plains.
The Bagdogra airport, a Siliguri park and two national parks in the Dooars were some venues for these events where stakeholders also promised to adhere to safety protocols for tourists amid the pandemic.
In north Bengal, other than the tea industry, tourism gives jobs to lakhs, but it has been badly hit amid the pandemic.
Raj Basu, an advisor of the Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network (HHTDN), who came with some others at Baghajatin Park here, said that in the past five months, they had hardly seen  any tourist inflow. “Hoteliers and transporters are not in a position to pay installments (EMIs), taxes or other expenses to maintain their properties and vehicles,” he said. “We lost almost 70 per cent of our total annual business in the current year. That is why we felt it necessary to tell the state and Centre that we are ready to abide by all the SOPs and want them to encourage people to start paying visits.” 
Samrat Sanyal, general secretary of HHTDN, said they wanted the state to come up with a specific policy on tourist movement in this “new normal”. “Also, the state should waive transport taxes and other allied charges till December,” he said.
Members of Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators Association (EHTTOA) held a similar event at Bagdogra airport, asking for a special financial package from the Centre for stakeholders. 
“In the hills, hotel and homestay owners could not open their properties as there is apprehension among some residents that inflow of tourists can increase the scale of the pandemic. We want to assure everyone that all such accommodations will follow health protocols,” said Debasish Maitra, president of the EHTTOA.
Demand for a specific set of rules was also raised by the resort owners of Lataguri, a popular destination in the Dooars. 
“There are indications that forests would open up for visitors from September 16. We want the state to issue specific guidelines for resort owners, cab drivers, guides and others,” Dibyendu Deb, the president of Lataguri Resort Owners Association, said.
In Madarihat of Alipurduar, resort owners said many of them send tourists to Bhutan, but right now there is a bar on non-Bhutanese people in the neighbouring country. “In such a situation, we want tourism activities to resume at least in the Dooars,” said Biswajit Saha, secretary, Jaldapara Lodge Owners’ Association. 
Additional inputs by our correspondents in Alipurduar & Jalpaiguri