Tourist arrivals in Rajasthan plunge over 40% in first five months, outlook uncertain

JAIPUR: Tourist footfalls have taken a steep dive in the first five months of the calendar year owing to Covid pandemic. During January to May, the number of visitors has fallen by over 40% over the same period last year.
The drop was witnessed both in domestic and foreign tourist arrivals. The number of domestic tourists drew a blank in April and May due to lockdown. The number of foreign tourists were 86 in April and 115 in May. Sources said, these tourists were stuck in the state.
In terms of volume, in the first five months of 2020, 11.40 million domestic tourists visited Rajasthan compared to 20.63 million in the first five months of 2019. Similarly, foreign tourist footfalls stood at 4.39 lakh compared to 8.05 lakh during the same period last year.
According to industry sources, although the arrivals have started which could best be best described a isolated cases. But they said this is a good sign these arrivals are going to create the first dots of a new revival curve.
While the government is planning to focus on attracting domestic tourists, all will depend on the Covid situation in the country which is only getting worse by the day.
In the absence of tourists coming from outside the state, the industry said the stakeholders including the government should start a marketing drive to promote Rajasthan as a safe destination to travel.
“We should be at the forefront whenever the movement starts and accordingly we should ready products and market them in the markets relevant for us,” said an industry representative. Also, the previous government had closed many of the tourist centres. Even though the current government had issued orders to reopen them, they are yet to function.
“These tourist centre should be reopened as per the government order. The government should deploy all tools to attract domestic tourists,” said the representative.
As per the role of the private sector, he said, “The private sector will do on its own as the stakes are high per them. They have made lot of investment and it is in their best interest, they will try to sell the destinations.