H/O: Opening of retreat ceremony, Kartarpur corridor sought

Strap: Industry people counting losses; call is aimed at bringing back tourists

NEERAJ BAGGA

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 27

People associated with tourism, tour and travel industry are have demanded the opening of the retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah joint check-post and the Kartarpur corridor to bring back tourists.

APS Chatha, president of the Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association, said it was a good sign that the number of tourists visiting the Golden Temple was increasing. However, these tourists returned to their hometowns the same day. The stay of these tourists could be increased to one or two nights by reopening the retreat ceremony, which is situated nearly 30 km from here, and the historic Kartarpur shrine, which is nearly 50 km from here.

He said the hotels which were opened after the government’s announcement were incurring losses on account of low occupancy while their running costs were very high. Barring tourists within the state, nobody from the rest of the country and overseas is visiting the place.

Hoteliers feel that its reason is that a majority of the trains are still cancelled, flights are suspended and travel restrictions on intra-state movement are discouraging visitors.

Yogesh Kamra, a travel and aviation expert, said the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Goa had allowed domestic tourists to visit their respective states in a limited number.

“Apart from the state guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs), tourists are required to have a Covid-19 negative report (tests undertaken not later than 72 hours before arrival) along with the minimum number of days of stay supported by non-refundable confirmation of hotel booking,” he remarked.

He said as the weather would turn pleasant towards the end of the next month and with the festival season starting soon, the state government should focus on opening up the tourism sector for tourists with specific guidelines as done by other states.

He said these days a majority of domestic flights were landing at Amritsar airport with less than 30 per cent occupancy. “Some flights are cancelled due to low passenger turnout, especially from Jaipur and Mumbai.