Assam tourism sector hit hard by COVID19; Kaziranga suffers too

GUWAHATI: At a time when the economy of the country has hit rock bottom due to the myriad lockdowns imposed to contain the coronavirus, the tourism industry of Assam has also been hit hard amid the pandemic.

With the state in the midst of its fight against the second wave of COVID-19, the coffers of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve also seem to have dried up.

Today, Minister of Excise, Forest & Environment and Fisheries Parimal Sukabaidya stated in no uncertain terms that the tourism revenue in Assam has been affected due to the current situation.

He confirmed that the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve has also suffered losses due to the temporary closure.

Sivakumar, who is now the field director at Kaziranga National Park told InsideNE that the recenue has been hit by close to 30% owing to the ongoing health crisis.

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"The park has been closed at the present and we have seen that we have lost about 30% of revenue during the pandemic period in 2021-21. The chunk of that revenue is from shortfall of foreigner visitors. While we usually have 10,000 visitors from foreign countries, this year their number is only 500. However, domestic tourism has been robust, as we actually saw an increase in the number of tourists coming from India. We have reason to believe that we were receive greater footfall once the park is re-opened as vaccination drive is underway," he told us.

Another official, Bathu Khungur Brahma, told us that tourists ceased to come to Kaziranga as soon as the second wave of COVID-19 surfaced in India.

"We were supposed to have tourists from places like Kolkata and Mumbai who immediately cancelled their trips as soon as the second wave (of COVID-19) began. Or else, we were banking on collecting a good amont of revenue," he said.

"It is no secret that the sector has suffered in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is the same story all over the country," said Madhumita Bhagawati, the director of tourism.

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