Gone,Girl

As horrifying images of devastation and rescue operations pour in from Uttarakhand,a pall of gloom has settled over Manali.

It’s peak season here,a crucially important month for hoteliers and restarauteurs across Himachal Pradesh,who spend the rest of the year gearing up for the mad summer rush. Alas,unseasonal rain in Delhi and widespread panic about flooding and landslides after the Uttarakhand disaster have scared tourists away and Manali,usually packed to capacity in June,wears a desolate,deserted look. The natural calamity in a neighbouring state comes right after the gang rape of a US tourist in Manali barely two weeks ago,only strengthening the existing perception that India is extremely unsafe for female tourists. For the backpacker student traveller or even the fort admirer,India conjures up a variety of images. You have the spectacular Himalayas,the eternal Taj Mahal or the decadent beauty of Rajasthan. It’s a travesty anyway that we get less than seven million travellers a year,when a country such as Greece,which is less than quarter our size,gets 20 million. In the last year,India has surely and steadily been moving down the ladder of desirable holiday destinations for foreign travelers. Ironic,considering the rupee is at an all-time low and the dollar goes a pretty long way here. A survey by an Indian trade body suggests that the number of female tourists visiting India has dropped by more than 35 per cent in the last six months following the series of sex attacks that made global headlines. The internet is full of advice for female travellers to India,most of it shamefully humiliating to the world’s largest democracy: “Don’t travel alone,wear revealing clothes or drink and smoke in public. Don’t use public transport after dark or trust anyone except known companions”. Rome is known for its handbag snatchers. London for credit card crimes. People don’t walk in Central Park in New York at night,unless there’s a concert on. In 30 years of coming to Manali,this gang rape is the first seriously violent crime I’ve heard of but the repercussions of damning travel advisories such as these can be shattering. Random incidents happen everywhere in the world,in fact,relatively fewer in India,but hoteliers feel these few rare incidents have garnered so much publicity that travellers feel they’re better off going elsewhere. Old Manali,a charming,bustling street,full of restaurants and cafes facing the Beas is a popular destination for several thousand young Israelis who come here after their compulsory stint in the army. They simply haven’t turned up this year. Of course,the government has made things tougher by altering its visa conditions,the backpacker crowd has to leave within six months and has to wait 60 days to apply again. But a part of it is the reality that right now,India is seen as dangerous for women. Surviving a short seasonal business is a challenge in itself. Throw in tough visa regulations,dodgy or non-existent disaster management and an unsafe environment for women,the next few years are not going to be easy to attract travellers back.It’s an image nightmare and we’ve never needed an advertising campaign like Incredible India! more than now.