(No Like Yet)
Published on : Tuesday, September 15, 2020
The tourism sector globally has been affected harshly by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in India, especially Kolkata, the sector hopes to see some businesses in the upcoming Durga Puja and Diwali seasons getting queries from interested travelers.
In the domestic and short-haul segments, people are expressing interest, said Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI) eastern region head Anil Punjabi.
“There is interest and queries are coming in about destinations and safety measures, but these are yet to be translated into bookings,” Punjabi said. He added that people have changed their priorities in the course of the COVID-19 crisis.
“There will be businesses in the Durga Puja and Diwali seasons with interest growing among people, though it is likely to be much less than what it used to be in the previous years,” said Punjabi.
People are now learning to live with the pandemic, and some of them are likely to resume travelling with requisite safety measures. Tour operators are providing people with information regarding tourists’ destinations and the safety of various places.
“Bengal is a value-for-money destination and is safe also,” Punjabi said, pinning hopes that domestic tourists would travel during the upcoming holiday season.
The reopening of Darjeeling hills to outsiders has led to tourists enquiring about bookings in different destinations there for the Puja season, according to Raj Basu, the convenor of the Association for Conservation of Tourism.
Tags: Durga Puja and Diwali