Delhi: Relief for tourism sector as flying norms for foreign visitors eased

With little to no business during the past 19 months, stakeholders from the tourism sector are being cautiously optimistic and hoping for a recovery

New Delhi: The Centre’s move to lift restrictions limiting arrival of foreigners on tourist visas to the country only by chartered flights on Monday is expected to give a boost to the tourism industry in the Capital that was hit hard by the Covid pandemic.

Peppered with multiple outlets engaging with tourist affairs -- like hotels, money changers, travel operators, restaurants or handicrafts shops -- the market in Paharganj used to be a go-to place for foreign tourists prior to the pandemic. It wears deserted look now. (Raj K Raj/HT)

With little to no business during the past 19 months, stakeholders from the tourism sector are being cautiously optimistic and hoping for a recovery.

Ashok Kumar (24), manager at The Grace House hotel in Paharganj, said that due to the pandemic, business was hit as only around 4-5% of foreign tourists were currently coming to India on business and medical visas.

He, however, said that it could take another six-seven months for business to bounce back. “We are dependent on foreign tourists and don’t get any domestic revenue. Our business has been nearly zero since March. We are hoping that more foreign tourists will start visiting the country... Our entire staff is fully vaccinated and prepared to welcome guests,” said Kumar, whose hotel is among the hundreds of establishments in the Paharganj main market.

Peppered with multiple outlets engaging with tourist affairs -- like hotels, money changers, travel operators, restaurants or handicrafts shops -- the market used to be a go-to place for foreign tourists prior to the pandemic.

With foreign tourists being the primary clientele for these outlets, business has been dull here since March last year.

When HT visited the market earlier this week, it wore a largely deserted look, with owners sitting idle in shops.

Sumit Chadha (45), who runs a handicrafts shop in Paharganj’s main market, said his outlet used to be frequented by many foreign tourists before the pandemic. “Over 70% of our clients are foreigners. Since the [initial] easing of restrictions, around 5-6 foreign clients have come to us. These are clients who have had a long relation with the country and us. Regular tourists are not coming at least as of now,” said Chadha.

Reacting to the resumption of tourist visas, he said that the move alone would not be enough to attract tourists at a time when there was a lot of uncertainty regarding Covid. “Something is better than nothing but a lot more needs to be done if we want people to come back. It will be necessary to provide a safe environment and for that, enforcement of Covid norms is crucial. The government could organise a festival to show that the country is open for tourism,” said Chadha.

While most stakeholders are hoping that the sector will pick up gradually, the optimism is not shared by everyone. Ajay Suri (56), a money exchanger, said that the pandemic has devastated his family. “There has been no business in the last two years. I had to sell my house to pay for medical bills. There is no income and I only come here because one cannot stay at home forever,” said Suri, who started working in the market at the age of 16.

“Don’t trust anyone or any talks about revival now. Business has crashed completely. Till the time all flights are resumed normally, people will not return to India for tourism. Flight tickets are also expensive right now. It will take months for the business to pick up once all restrictions on flights are lifted,” said Suri.

Dildar Singh, a city-based government-registered tourist guide, said that it was difficult to predict by when business would pick up.

Since the pandemic started, he has only been catering to domestic tourists, many of whom do not prefer to hire the services of guides. “I think it will take some time for tourists to return. They could possibly start coming by December. I have seen a few foreigners working in the Embassy at monuments but other than that the footfall is mostly due to domestic tourists,” said Singh.

Historian and author Swapna Liddle said that it was important to expand tourism beyond the popular places in a Covid-impacted world.

Liddle said that instead of converging at the few popular sites, one could develop places that are less crowded. “There are many small places in Delhi and beyond which are beautiful and can be developed as tourist places. One simply needs to promote them and send out a message that tourists are welcome. We need to be mindful of covid and not congregate at small places with large crowds,” said Liddle. She added that while businesses were already running, the need of the hour was to instil confidence in visitors and make them believe that safe practices in compliance with covid were being adopted.

Sanjeev Kumar, president, Government Approved Tourist Guide Association, Delhi, said that the revival of full-fledged would need a sentimental change which is unlikely to happen so soon. Kumar said that the resumption of tourist visas was only 1% of the efforts that need to be taken for the industry to bounce back. “Things are not changing right now. People do not travel without insurance and right now, insurance companies globally are yet to put travel in the normal category. Business tourists might continue to come but that will not have much of an impact on tourism unless travel advisories globally are relaxed,” said Kumar.