Tourists unfazed by brewing political strife in Bengal

siliguri Feb 14:  Backpackers seem to be unperturbed by the political unrest in the hills of North Bengal. Despite a 12-hour strike on February 9 and anticipated political crisis following the West Bengal Government’s announcement for Lepcha development council, tourist inflow to Darjeeling and other districts is expected to remain normal.

Problems have been brewing as the leading political entity, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, is opposing the formation of such a council.

According to a North-East-based tour operator major, tourism activities for both the current and summer (March 15 to June 15) seasons are expected to remain unaffected by the political crisis this time.

“We expect inflow of travelers for the next few months till June to remain normal. The period between February and mid-March also registered to be lean season,” an official of the tour operator said.

Raj Basu, convenor of Siliguri-headquartered Association for Conservation and Tourism, said: “Bookings have been intact till date despite the recent political problems. Like every year, 15-20 per cent bookings have been completed for the summer season so far.”

However, that the political events will have an impact on the tourism industry in the North-East cannot be ruled out. Another travel management firm said, “Darjeeling and North Bengal witnessed one strike last week. So far, there has been no cancellation of bookings. But, we may have concerns if a political unrest continues.”

Interestingly, Basu pointed out, his association has been lobbying with the State government to treat tourism as an emergency service in the North-East region. According to him, tourism activities in the hills should be kept out of any bandh as the region is largely dependent on the tourism industry.

“We have been lobbying with the West Bengal government to give tourism emergency service status and keep it out of any bandh. A one-day strike boils down to loss of business for more than a week,” he said.