Kolkata: Though the tourism industry and travel agents are passing through harrowing times after many people cancelled their tours following a spike in Covid cases, a section of people started planning trips for summer holidays. Some of them are also preparing for international tours as they are updating their passports and applying for visas.
Travel agents in Bengal said that they had a pre-pandemic like domestic travel season between October and December as people had started gaining confidence. But the third wave put brakes on the progress again.
“While tourist places across India were packed in December, by January people started cancelling their pre-booked holidays. The situation is still bad. But there is a glimmer of hope as we are getting some positive queries for the month of March onwards. Many people have understood that those infected are getting cured within a week and they are hoping that the rate of infection will go down further by the end of February,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman (east), Travel Agents Federation of India. Meanwhile, multiple travel agents’ bodies in Bengal are appealing to the state government to issue clarity in their restrictions’ order and allow tourism to sustain with the necessary cap on number of tourists at specific places.
“The state government order on January 2 simply states all entertainment parks, zoos and tourist places shall remain closed. But there is no clarity on the kind of tourist places, which has put our entire industry in a dilemma. Should the hotels and resorts be closed? Should entry at popular tourist hubs and hill stations be suspended? No one has any clarity. We urge the state government to clarify the issue and allow tourism to sustain,” said Amitava Sarkar, general secretary of Travel Agents’ Association of Bengal on Monday.
Association of Tourism Service Providers of Bengal also wrote to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, pleading to offer a leeway in allowing operation of tourism and hospitality industry with 50% occupancy.
