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Tourist influx in Chandigarh down by 85% in first 7 months of 2023
Officials from the Chandigarh administration attribute drop to severe heat followed by flood fury in Himachal Pradesh during summer vacations
As the UT administration gears up to celebrate tourism week from Friday, numbers from the tourism department reflect a whopping 85% drop in domestic tourist arrivals in the first seven months of 2023.
Compared to 21.63 lakh domestic visitors from January 1 to July 31, 2022, their number dropped to a lowly 3.2 lakh in the corresponding period this year.
But the influx of foreign tourists saw an exponential growth over the same time frame. From 14,723 in 2022, the number zoomed to 37,026 — a 150% spike. Most of these tourists were from France, Spain, Germany and Italy.
The drop in domestic arrivals however points at the urgent need to aggressively promote the city as a niche destination for modern architecture, planned layout and soothing greenery, apart from efforts to bring in more facilities for visitors.
The primary tourist places in Chandigarh include the Capitol Complex – a UNESCO world heritage site, Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake, Bird Park, Indian Air Force Heritage Centre, and Government Museum and Art Gallery.
UT officials attribute the decline in tourists to the severe weather conditions since may, while summer vacations were underway.
“Due to the natural calamities in Himachal Pradesh and heavy rains all across north India in June and July, lesser tourists planned trips to Chandigarh, usually a pit-stop before longer stays in the hill state and beyond. Even before then, severe heat prevailed during May and June. Also, the city recorded more tourist rush last year primarily due to things returning to normal after two years of Covid-19 pandemic. We expect more tourist influx between October and December as the monsoon withdraws and weather cools down,” said Rohit Gupta, director, tourism, Chandigarh.
Facilities for tourists far from satisfactory
Though the UT tourism department boasts of five information centres for tourists at the Sector 17 Plaza, railway station, Capitol Complex, Sukhna Lake and airport, those at the railway station and airport were found lying closed.
The tourism department or CITCO have also not made any efforts to repair the signages installed over a decade ago, most of them lying uprooted or faded. The department has also failed to promote the Capitol Complex’s worth heritage status, with no signage reflecting the site’s prestigious tag.
Gupta said since the central government had already shortlisted a company for installing signages and the work will begin soon.
Hop on-hop off tourist coach losing sheen
The double-decker hop on-hop off bus started for tourists in 2001 is also not attracting crowds.
As per record, for the past five years, the tourist bus has been getting only around 40 tourists in the entire day even after making several rounds of tourist spots in the city. The bus was introduced to promote tourism in the city, but two decades later, the display boards, which earlier mentioned the timetable and route, have gone missing. Even the numerous boards displaying the city’s map are crying for attention.
“Constitution of a tourism advisory committee is the need of the hour. The committee will comprehensively address the tourism-related issues in the city,” said Ankit Gupta, president, Chandigarh Hospitality Association.
