By Sunil Sonkar
Mussoorie, 6 May: Mussoorie is currently facing an unexpected slowdown in tourist inflow. While every year lakhs of tourists flock here during summer holidays, this year there has been a decline of about 20 to 30 percent in the number of tourists. According to local traders, hotel owners and the tourism department, the recent terrorist attacks in Kashmir and natural phenomena like water surge in Kempty Falls are the main reasons behind this decline. The terrorist attack in Pulwama district of Kashmir last month, in which many innocent tourists lost their lives, created an atmosphere of panic across North India. Although Mussoorie is hundreds of kilometres away from Kashmir, in the eyes of the common tourist, the northern hill region falls in the same geographical category. Due to this, tourists, especially from southern states, have cancelled or postponed their trip to North India.
According to tourism experts, such incidents affect tourism in the entire Himalayan region, especially when there are rumours and fear about security. Tourists coming from Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and South India have cancelled their bookings.
On the other hand, Mussoorie’s most popular tourist destination, Kempty Falls, suddenly came into the limelight due to the recent rains when the water level suddenly increased for some time. Misinformation was spread on social media regarding this, which created an atmosphere of fear among the people visiting Kempty. In view of the heavy rains, the Kempty Police had already temporarily banned going near the waterfall from the point of view of safety. Local people described the incident at Kempty Falls as a “natural water incident”, but this news went viral on social media among the tourists and created an atmosphere of fear. Many tourists changed their plans while staying in the hotel and returned before time.
The lack of tourists has directly affected the economy of Mussoorie. From hotel owners to street vendors, all sections have been affected. State President of the Uttarakhand Hotel Association, Sandeep Sahani, said that last year in the first week of May, Uttarakhand hotels had 80 percent occupancy. This time after the news of Kashmir attack and rising water level of Kempty Falls, a decline of 20 to 30 percent is being recorded. Many tourists have also cancelled their advance bookings. The earnings of restaurants, guides, taxi drivers, photographers, handicraft vendors have been deeply affected. Tourism is the main income source in Mussoorie and in such a situation, this decline has brought economic crisis for them.
The President of the Mussoorie Hotel Association, Sanjay Aggarwal, said that after the terrorist attack in Kashmir, the tourism business in Mussoorie and the surrounding areas was affected, but after the news of the water level of Kempty Falls rising for some time due to heavy rains in Mussoorie and the surrounding areas on May 4 went viral on social media, the tourism business in Mussoorie and the surrounding areas has been badly affected. He said that the bookings made earlier are getting cancelled. He said that the local administration and the government should run a large-scale awareness campaign about Mussoorie and other tourist places so that the tourism business can be brought back on track. A positive publicity campaign should be run on social media so that tourists can be assured of safety.
