Bengal witnesses rising number of tourists for Durga Puja festive season

Kolkata: In a leg-up to the Covid-battered tourism industry in West Bengal, bookings for the Durga Puja festive season have surged beyond expectations, tour operators said. According to industry sources, bookings for trips during Durga Puja are in full swing amid fears of a possible third wave of the pandemic. “Many people are mixing travel […]

Kolkata: In a leg-up to the Covid-battered tourism industry in West Bengal, bookings for the Durga Puja festive season have surged beyond expectations, tour operators said. According to industry sources, bookings for trips during Durga Puja are in full swing amid fears of a possible third wave of the pandemic.

“Many people are mixing travel with family get-togethers at exotic locations, having missed out on meeting each other for a long time owing to the restrictions,” Anil Punjabi, the eastern region chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India, said. “This time, the response and bookings are much more than our expectations. We are getting a very good response. If you compare it with pre-Covid times, for example, 2019, the revival is around 60 per cent. We hope it will grow further in days to come,” he said.

---

Raj Basu, convenor of the Association for Conservation of Tourism, said keeping in mind Covid safety norms, many travellers this time are more interested in quieter destinations. “People are preferring to stay at one place for at least three to four days instead of hopping in and out of several tourist attractions,” he said.

Basu said that the tourist response to four districts of north Bengal – Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri is “extraordinary” for the festival season. “Most village tourism destinations like Sittong, Tagdah, Tinchuley, Pedong are totally booked for the Durga Puja, and bookings have also started for Diwali and Christmas holidays,” he said.

Basu said that if the trend continues, the tourism industry would be assured of a turnaround from the lull it faced since March 2020, when the nationwide lockdown was announced.