Orissa still a big no for tourists

The sudden drop in the tourist inflow to the State is generally attributed to an impression created outside that there is epidemic, lack of security and non-availability of food following the cyclone. None of these is true though. In fact, Puri, Konark, Bhubaneswar and Chilka, the four places that attract maximum tourists, have bounced back to normal.

Advisor to the Travel Agents’ Association of Orissa (TAAO) Anant Mohapatra stated that the security was never a problem in the tourist zones. But unfortunately one or two unrelated events have been highlighted during the cyclone leading to a wrong impression, he said adding tourists are most safe and secure in Orissa.

Contrary to perceptions that infrastructure and the monuments have been affected by the cyclone, Mohapatra said nothing of the sort happened. Rather, the ambience of tourist destinations were restored immediately after the devastation, he pointed out.

Things have marginally improved in the domestic tourism sector. Tourists from West Bengal, who constitute nearly 70 per cent of the average nine lakh domestic visitors to the State annually, are beginning to flock to Puri with the onset of winter. But for foreign tourists, Orissa is still a big "No".

For Benjamine Simon, the proprietor of Travel Link, not a single overseas group booking has fructified so far after the cyclone. The tourist season usually starts in October and lasts till March. His biggest project of handling 360 premium American clients during the new year has been called off four days ago. Half of this group were scheduled to arrive at Paradip port by a luxury liner on December 29 and the rest by a chartered plane. It has now been diverted elsewhere although Simon claims he can handle the high spending Americans without any hassles even now.

According to him, visits by over 100 foreign groups booked for December have already been cancelled. Each group has on an average 20 persons. He alone has lost 17 groups.

Last year 20,000 foreigners visited the State of whom 4500 came in organised tours. The rest came on shoe-string budget and stayed in cheap to medium grade hotels.

The indirect loss to the State due to the cancellations of overseas groups will be enormous, said a senior official of the state tourism department. The foreigners, who come in organised tours, spend on an average Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per person per day. Shopkeepers dealing with paintings, artefacts and souvenirs are incurring heavy loss with hardly any takers around.

Meanwhile, bird watchers have reported sighting of four new species in Chilka lake this year. The migratory birds from Siberia that visit Chilka every winter have had an early arrival this year.