Tourism hotspot Darjeeling, Sikkim banking upon FTA for bright business

SILIGURI: Victim of long socio political disturbance, tourism hotspot Darjeeling hills is now banking upon India’s upward foreign tourist arrival(FTA) trend that can bring in bright business during the approaching festive and then winter season.

As estimated, Darjeeling and adjoining areas lost over 80% of its annual business volume of around Rs 350 crore in 2017 due to several political disturbances including 104 days long bandh. Adjacent Himalayan state Sikkim also faced its ill effect in tourism inflow.

But, “With the present trend of enquiry and initial booking growth, we are expecting bright business during festive season that begins from 15th September. Almost 50% of all accommodations for the peak days of the season are already booked. Winter is also likely to remain equally bright,” said Sandipan Ghosh, Secretary, Eastern Himalayan Tour and Travel Operators Association.

The tourism sector is banking heavily on increasing foreign tourist arrival(FTA) in India. According to GoI tourism Ministry report, India’s FTA had a growth of 9.9% during last qtr 17-18 with 31.27 lakh visitors against 28.45 lakh count during same period previous year. Third quarter also had near 15% growth.

“This is indeed a confidence builder for us. Near 5-10% of these foreign visitors keep Darjeeling or Sikkim in their itinerary. This year we are expecting this to be even higher,” said veteran tourism consultant Samrat Sanyal.

“Even with low head count compared to domestic visitors, these premium class foreign travelers contribute much larger share in our rupee volume business with their much higher level of spending,” said Raj Basu, veteran tourism expert.

In addition to this, with a turn around after devastating earthquake in 2015, Nepal is also witnessing consistent growth of 20-40% in its month wise FTA. “Near 30% of foreign visitors coming to Nepal also visit Darjeeling or Sikkim in the same trip,” said Sanyal.

However, there are indeed few bottlenecking in this hilly region. Most important among them is connectivity disruption due to landslides. “We are working with all concerned authorities to keep the connection at best possible shape,” assured Tourism, Minister of Bengal Gautam Deb.