At last, there is some good news for the hospitality and tourism industry in Darjeeling. The much needed peace has been restored in the trouble-torn hill station and tourists are again making a beeline for the Darjeeling. For tourists, gone are the days of being left stranded because of a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) bandh call and holidays spoiled by protests and demonstrations. Bookings in Darjeeling hotels had doubled for the Christmas-New Year week. The hotels displayed the 'house-full' board and the hills are expecting nearly 30,000 tourists, twice the number that the region received in 2010. The situation can be attributed in no small measure to the signing of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) agreement in 2011 and to cash in on this the administration recently organised 'Darjeeling Tea & Tourism Festival' -the festival of dance, music and entertainment, after a gap of several years.
Bollywood personalities like Zeenat Aman, Mahima Chaudhury and Mahesh Bhatt were flow in to promote this festival of dance, music and folk art. “Peace and stability have returned to the hills and so have the tourists,” said Roshan Giri, general secretary of GJM. “There is a festive spirit in Darjeeling. It is good to see so many tourists in the hills. ”When contacted by Express TravelWorld in Darjeeling, a spokesperson of the local Hotel Owners’ Association, said, “The bookings at the hotels affiliated to the association are almost double than than the previous year. In 2010, about 16,000 tourists visited Darjeeling in winter.” The average occupancy rate in hotels this season is hovering around 70 per cent. The clear weather coupled with the several cultural events lined up by the administration and the entertainment programmes of the hotels have increased the flow of tourists this winter. Meanwhile in a related development, Gautam Deb, the West Bengal Minister for North Bengal Development who was in the town for the festival said, "The Balasun Water project is likely to be completed soon." Under Rs 56 crore Darjeeling Water Supply Pumping Scheme water will be pumped to the Darjeeling town from the nearby Balasun river. The project once commissioned will bring to an end the problem of water scarcity in the hill station. The scarcity of water was a major bottleneck for the development and promotion of tourism in the hill-town. So much so that very few investors ventured to set up hotels in Darjeeling. Instead they flocked to nearby Sikkim. Deb said that the state government will extend all possible help and cooperation to the GTA to address the major bottlenecks plaguing the growth and development of tourism in the hills like proper roads, hotels, drinking water, pollution and traffic congestion.
Bollywood personalities like Zeenat Aman, Mahima Chaudhury and Mahesh Bhatt were flow in to promote this festival of dance, music and folk art. “Peace and stability have returned to the hills and so have the tourists,” said Roshan Giri, general secretary of GJM. “There is a festive spirit in Darjeeling. It is good to see so many tourists in the hills. ”When contacted by Express TravelWorld in Darjeeling, a spokesperson of the local Hotel Owners’ Association, said, “The bookings at the hotels affiliated to the association are almost double than than the previous year. In 2010, about 16,000 tourists visited Darjeeling in winter.” The average occupancy rate in hotels this season is hovering around 70 per cent. The clear weather coupled with the several cultural events lined up by the administration and the entertainment programmes of the hotels have increased the flow of tourists this winter. Meanwhile in a related development, Gautam Deb, the West Bengal Minister for North Bengal Development who was in the town for the festival said, "The Balasun Water project is likely to be completed soon." Under Rs 56 crore Darjeeling Water Supply Pumping Scheme water will be pumped to the Darjeeling town from the nearby Balasun river. The project once commissioned will bring to an end the problem of water scarcity in the hill station. The scarcity of water was a major bottleneck for the development and promotion of tourism in the hill-town. So much so that very few investors ventured to set up hotels in Darjeeling. Instead they flocked to nearby Sikkim. Deb said that the state government will extend all possible help and cooperation to the GTA to address the major bottlenecks plaguing the growth and development of tourism in the hills like proper roads, hotels, drinking water, pollution and traffic congestion.
Source: expresstravelworld
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