Tourist footfall expected to surge on Diwali in holy city Amritsar

Tribune News Service

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, November 7

Tourist footfall in the city is likely to peak at a record level during Diwali which falls this weekend. Following the age-old adage of ‘Dal-Roti Ghar Di, Diwali Amritsar Di’, people of Punjab prefer to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple on Diwali night.

Tourist flow surges every weekend leading to high room occupancy. However, this time the figure is likely to cross the mark, said a tourist guide Gurinder Singh Johal. People involved in the hospitality industry are expecting a thriving business this time. Traditionally, people love to celebrate Diwali in the city of Golden Temple. This time, the flow of international and domestic tourists has also picked up pace.

Johal said presently, domestic tourists from Hyderabad, Pune, Gujarat and West Bengal are arriving in the city. Similarly, overseas tourists from Australia, Europe, US and Malaysia are also coming to see the city. There are about 20 guides involved in the profession and all of them are finding the business impressive, he said.

Sounding a word of caution to the government, tourist guides demanded that it seriously needed to streamline the growing traffic mess, mugging of visitors and high pollution levels.

Sarah Apellt, a German national who resides in India due to her professional commitments, said overseas tourists wanted to stay with local families to observe their traditions during Diwali night. However, locals are not so forthcoming to share their space.

Satnam Singh, a hotelier, accepted that the tourist flow was presently good and was slated to surge during the Diwali period.

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