Poll tourism beats usual rush in Kashi, Kushinagar

GORAKHPUR/KUSHINAGAR: A voter from Gorakhpur rural area, Arun Kumar works as a waiter in a hotel in the city’s Golghar area. The man in his 20s is extremely happy these days as he is earning a lot of money as tip. “Our hotel has seen cent-percent occupancy because of the elections…more guests means more tip,” said the man whose smile spoke volumes about surge in tourism brought in by UP elections.
“Finding a hotel was impossible two days back…we had to share rooms and accommodate guests on extra mattresses,” said Ashok Kumar, manager of a hotel in Kushinagar, adding, “All guests were media persons who had come to cover election campaigns.”
With campaigning for the final phase in full swing, hotels in Varanasi are packed. “As many as 40 ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s team are camping in the temple town. Each of them has at least 3-4 people working for them. Also, there are media persons from all over the world who have come to cover elections in the PM’s constituency,” said Prateek Hira, chairman of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, UP chapter.
In Varanasi, lodges and home stays are packed. “Footfall in Varanasi as it is remains high but elections have brought in people in hordes and I have already disappointed more than 20 guests in the past two days,” said D P Singh, manager of a hotel opposite Varanasi Railway station.
Small time hotels are making the most of the opportunity by inflating rates. Hotels in places adjoining Varanasi, like Jaunpur and Mirzapur which are to go to polls on March 8 have revised rates. “A deluxe room that was available at Rs 1,500-1,600, now costs up to Rs 1,800, besides the tax,” said Ram Gyan Singh, a small-time tour operator in Mirzapur.
Restaurants and taxi operators are also benefitting from the spill-over effect. In Varanasi for example, taxi rates have gone up by 15-20%. “Taxi agencies normally charged Rs 1,500-1,600 for full day but they are now charging Rs 1,800-2,000 for a sedan,” said manager of a hotel on Assi Ghat.
Vendors on the ghats of Varanasi and markets in poll-bound cities are selling all the more. “The mystique of Varanasi has been peppered with political excitement. Visitors want to take back memories of the city… so they are taking out time to visit the ghats which giving everyone business,” said Vijayendra Mishra, a poet in Varanasi, who has accommodated some guests in his home.
“Elections in India have always fascinated researchers and policy makers from across the world, so tourism around elections make the plot all the more interesting,” said a retired EC official. A team from Canada has already visited several model polling booths in the first and second phase.
“High voltage political drama unfolding in Varanasi is drawing people from all over though tourism season usually ends around Holi,” said Manoj Dixit, former director of Manyavar Kanshiram Institute for Tourism Studies.