Sri Lanka, Jammu and Kashmir missing from summer itinerary of Jharkhand tourists

RANCHI:

Sri Lanka

has lost its popularity as a tourist destination for Ranchiites following terror attacks that ripped the island nation apart on Sunday. Travel and tour operators with packages scheduled in the country are sceptical of finding any customers as enquires have dropped drastically for the

tourists

interested in visiting the southern country.

Poonam Madhu, an employee of Travel Star and Club 7 Holidays said, “Till a few days ago, we received regular queries for Sri Lanka. However, after Sunday’s blast inquiries for the island nation have stopped.” She added, “Last summer we sent 15 tourists to Sri Lanka from various parts of the state.”

“We have a month-long family tour scheduled for Sri Lanka in July. However, we are anticipating cancellations even though the high alert issued in the country is expected to end by July. Most travellers tend to avoid destinations where such incidents (of terror) occur,” she further said.

Vijay Kumar of Trippers Holidays agreed. “Every time such an incident occurs, the tourist influx to that destination falls. Since Colombo is the point of entry for tourists to Sri Lanka, it is natural for the tourists to give the destination a miss this summer. We don’t have any bookings as of now,” he said.

Some tour operators said holiday seekers are eyeing destinations in Europe in summer because of the upcoming cricket World Cup in London and Wales.

“We have several bookings for Europe already lined up, mainly because of the World Cup. There is a growing trend among families and individuals to opt for international destinations from the state. In the aftermath of terror

attacks

in Sri Lanka, the island country has turned into a high-risk destination at the moment. However, it is yet too early to analyse the full impact,” opined Aftab Khan, director of Travel Star and Club 7 Holidays.

Meanwhile in the domestic tourism circuit, the shadow of terror cast its aspersion on Jammu and Kashmir, said another operator. “There is definitely a huge drop in the people booking holidays in J&K during summer. The issue of safety looms large on tourists as they prefer to travel to alternate destinations like hill stations in the north-eEast. The bookings for Kashmir are at an all-time low now. We had at least a dozen booking every summer, but we haven’t received a single booking so far this year,” said Manas Mukherjee of Ranchi-based Jai Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd.