Sep 20, 2011, 05.44AM IST
KOLKATA: The earthquake in Sikkim may have a ripple effect for the tourism-based economy of Sikkim. Sunday's tremor might hit the tourist rush during the peak Puja season.
Debojit Pradhan of Salt Lake's Gallivant Tours and Travels was forthright: "Sixty families have opted for our Darjeeling package while 35 families have booked the Sikkim package. The hotel in Sikkim where we put up our clients has developed cracks. Unless we get complete assurance of safety of boarders from the hotel, we might cancel the bookings."
Fortunately, not too many tourists from Bengal are in Sikkim or Darjeeling at the moment, monsoon being the off-season for tourism in Hills. State disaster management minister Javed Khan confirmed that only 25 tourists from Bengal are in Sikkim at present. "All of them are safe," he said.
There are some 100-odd tourists in Sikkim right now, of whom 20 are in the worst-hit North Sikkim, said the president of travel agents' association of Sikkim, Lukendra Rasaily. "All of them are safe and are being brought back to Gangtok. There is no reason to panic. Some hotel buildings have suffered severe damage and water supply is right now erratic. We will work hard to put the infrastructure back in place soon," he said.
But some tour operators, understandably, are not willing to take a risk. "We are taking no fresh bookings for Sikkim during the Puja. We have to first make sure that the tourism infrastructure of the state is back to normal. Only then we can think of sending tourists there," said Koushik Sen of Oxygen Tours and Travel of Mandeville Garden.
Making things worse, rumours are flying thick and fast about the possibility of a second round of quakes in Sikkim. "Most of the tourists who have booked the Sikkim package for Puja and winter vacations are making frantic calls to us regarding that. And we have to depend on the feedback from our Sikkim counterpart. We came to know that some hotels are badly damaged. So there might be a major rescheduling of tours," Sen said.
Averi Tours and Travel of Salt Lake, which has eight clients travelling in Sikkim right now, have decided to wait and watch. "All the eight clients touring Sikkim are safe. But we are receiving a lot of inquiries regarding our Puja bookings. Our clients have not cancelled the bookings, but are definitely worried. This year, there are lots of bookings for Darjeeling," said Avijit Sen Majumdar of Averi.
Many tourists, however, are not ready to cancel their cherished trips right now. "If things are not quite fine there, we will be in trouble. At the same time, it will be difficult to arrange another trip at such short notice," said Kathakali Das of Salt Lake, who has a nine-day Sikkim trip booked during Puja. The family has decided to watch the developments for the moment before taking a decision.
Suhana Safar, which focuses on the Northeast, is more optimistic. "We have 150 bookings in the northeast sector this Puja. The majority is of course for Sikkim and Darjeeling. Ever since the earthquake happened, we have been flooded with queries. We are also getting regular updates from our Sikkim-based associates. We still have some time to go before the Puja. Hopefully, everything will fall in place by then," said Priyanka Biswas of Suhana Safar.
Chewang Piulger of Sikkim Tourism also showed the same optimism. "It is only a matter of time before normality returns. We can assure tourists that they do not need to cancel their trips to Sikkim. It is our responsibility to ensure their safety."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Quake-may-hit-tourist-rush-to-Hills-during-Pujas/articleshow/10048175.cms
KOLKATA: The earthquake in Sikkim may have a ripple effect for the tourism-based economy of Sikkim. Sunday's tremor might hit the tourist rush during the peak Puja season.
Debojit Pradhan of Salt Lake's Gallivant Tours and Travels was forthright: "Sixty families have opted for our Darjeeling package while 35 families have booked the Sikkim package. The hotel in Sikkim where we put up our clients has developed cracks. Unless we get complete assurance of safety of boarders from the hotel, we might cancel the bookings."
Fortunately, not too many tourists from Bengal are in Sikkim or Darjeeling at the moment, monsoon being the off-season for tourism in Hills. State disaster management minister Javed Khan confirmed that only 25 tourists from Bengal are in Sikkim at present. "All of them are safe," he said.
There are some 100-odd tourists in Sikkim right now, of whom 20 are in the worst-hit North Sikkim, said the president of travel agents' association of Sikkim, Lukendra Rasaily. "All of them are safe and are being brought back to Gangtok. There is no reason to panic. Some hotel buildings have suffered severe damage and water supply is right now erratic. We will work hard to put the infrastructure back in place soon," he said.
But some tour operators, understandably, are not willing to take a risk. "We are taking no fresh bookings for Sikkim during the Puja. We have to first make sure that the tourism infrastructure of the state is back to normal. Only then we can think of sending tourists there," said Koushik Sen of Oxygen Tours and Travel of Mandeville Garden.
Making things worse, rumours are flying thick and fast about the possibility of a second round of quakes in Sikkim. "Most of the tourists who have booked the Sikkim package for Puja and winter vacations are making frantic calls to us regarding that. And we have to depend on the feedback from our Sikkim counterpart. We came to know that some hotels are badly damaged. So there might be a major rescheduling of tours," Sen said.
Averi Tours and Travel of Salt Lake, which has eight clients travelling in Sikkim right now, have decided to wait and watch. "All the eight clients touring Sikkim are safe. But we are receiving a lot of inquiries regarding our Puja bookings. Our clients have not cancelled the bookings, but are definitely worried. This year, there are lots of bookings for Darjeeling," said Avijit Sen Majumdar of Averi.
Many tourists, however, are not ready to cancel their cherished trips right now. "If things are not quite fine there, we will be in trouble. At the same time, it will be difficult to arrange another trip at such short notice," said Kathakali Das of Salt Lake, who has a nine-day Sikkim trip booked during Puja. The family has decided to watch the developments for the moment before taking a decision.
Suhana Safar, which focuses on the Northeast, is more optimistic. "We have 150 bookings in the northeast sector this Puja. The majority is of course for Sikkim and Darjeeling. Ever since the earthquake happened, we have been flooded with queries. We are also getting regular updates from our Sikkim-based associates. We still have some time to go before the Puja. Hopefully, everything will fall in place by then," said Priyanka Biswas of Suhana Safar.
Chewang Piulger of Sikkim Tourism also showed the same optimism. "It is only a matter of time before normality returns. We can assure tourists that they do not need to cancel their trips to Sikkim. It is our responsibility to ensure their safety."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Quake-may-hit-tourist-rush-to-Hills-during-Pujas/articleshow/10048175.cms