Rishikesh draws over 8,000 tourists for river rafting within 10 days of re-opening
Out of the 8,000 tourists, almost 6,000 visited Rishikesh over the last weekend.
Within just ten days of the resumption of river rafting after a gap of six months, over 8,000 tourists have flocked to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand to participate in adventure sports activity, officials said Tuesday.
Dinesh Bhatt, president of Rafting Association in Rishikesh said that Rishikesh alone recorded over 6,000 tourists coming in for river rafting in the last three days
“In the past ten days, since the Uttarakhand government allowed resumption of river rafting, Rishikesh has welcomed over 8,000 tourists, with almost 6,000 people coming to participate in river rafting in the past three days over the long weekend,” said Bhatt.
He added that the response has been well with business picking up, but the rafting companies are still facing minor losses while practicing physical distancing.
“Earlier, ten persons were allowed in a single raft, but now, only four tourists are going, with two guides in one raft. We have not increased our prices, so we are facing some loss, but safety is important for us,” Bhatt said.
Dilip Jawalkar, secretary for tourism in Uttarakhand said adventure tourism is a major component in the state’s overall tourism industry. “I am happy that our step towards resuming the adventure sports activities have achieved the desired results and has attracted a large number of adventure seekers to the state,” he said
He added that while activities for tourists are being opened up, the state government expects full cooperation from all the stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of rules and guidelines to control the spread of Covid-19 in the state.