Cyclone Amphan damages hotels in coastal West Bengal

The cyclone Amphan has damaged hotels in coastal areas of West Bengal, adding woes to the state's tourism industry, already hit hard by the COVID-19 induced lockdown, officials said on Tuesday.

The cyclone has ravaged properties in popular sea resorts such as Digha, Mandarmoni and Tajpur, besides the Sunderbans.

The West Bengal government and tour operators now need to promote the state within the country to attract domestic tourists after the lockdown is lifted, as nobody knows when international flight services will be resumed, they said.

"All our properties are closed now due to the coronavirus pandemic. Once the hotels and resorts are allowed to re-open, we expect some business to happen. However, the properties in coastal areas have been badly damaged due to the cyclone," a senior official of the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDCL) said on Tuesday.

The WBTDCL owns 30 properties in various tourist destinations of West Bengal.

"Since no international travel will take place in the recent future, we have to count on domestic travellers," the official said. Nearly five to six per cent of the total footfall registered at the WBTDCLs properties comes from overseas tourists, he said.

The Chairman of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (BCCI) tourism committee, Anil Punjabi, said that it is a double whammy for the tourism industry.

"Last year was better than the previous one and we were expecting this fiscal to improve further," he told PTI.

In the present scenario, he said, the government and the tour operators will have to promote West Bengal within the country as international travel will be less.

"In the present situation, travel is no more a compulsion. People will prefer to postpone it for a certain period," Punjabi said.

He said the tourism industry needs to capitalise on the Durga Puja and Christmas.

"After Goa, Kolkata is famous for its Christmas carnival," he said, adding that the government should encourage PPP models to boost tourism in the state.

"We have to start from zero. The idea should be to promote the state within the country," he said adding that infrastructure has been badly affected by the cyclone.

One of the cottages of a private resort in Tajpur has been damaged by the cyclone, said its manager Milan Jana. Other properties of Tajpur have also suffered damages, he said.