Assam Tourism hit due to ongoing CAA stir

Assam tourism industry has been hit by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests around the state, leading to many visitors cancelling their bookings. As per the state's tourism department, Assam has already faced a loss of more than INR 400 crores in revenue collection during this period.

Reports suggest that many prospective domestic and foreign tourists cancelled their bookings to visit Assam and other parts of the Northeastern region. Reportedly, many tourists were left stranded during the protests and, subsequently, curfew was imposed in some districts.
Referring to this situation, Assam Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah stated that the month of December is the main tourist season, when all the stakeholders involved in the tourism sector eagerly look forward to conducting business; in fact, this tourist season starts from November and continues till the month of January. Records state that last year, a total of around 4504 foreign tourists and around 4.25 lakh domestic tourists visited Assam during this period.
Jayanta also mentioned that if this situation continues, it will definitely hamper the tourism sector and its revenue collection. Reports state that while in 2018, the state tourism department had a revenue collection of INR 1200 to 1500 crore, out of which 30 per cent was collected alone in the month of December, whereas this year, the tourism sector has collected just around INR 300 to 400 crore till now.
President of Tour Operators, while referring to the number of bookings during this peak tourist season, stated that they are planning to meet the leaders of All Assam Students Union (AASU). The same association is spearheading the agitation against the act and request them to say that it is safe to travel to Assam and that their protests are non-violent in nature. He further asserted that Assam had witnessed many crises earlier also, but no tourists were ever harmed even during the worst phases of violence in the state.