Anti-CAA protests: Tourist footfall in Agra, Goa and Assam sharply declines in December

Amid nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the number of tourists has declined sharply in several parts of India in December

Anti-CAA protests (Photo courtesy: Twitter)
Anti-CAA protests (Photo courtesy: Twitter)
user

NH Web Desk

Amid nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the number of tourists has massively declined in several parts of India in the month of December.

According to a report in Reuters, the tourism officials estimate that about two lakh domestic and international tourists cancelled or postponed their trip to the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh in the past two weeks.

“There has been a 60% decline in visitors footfall in December this year (as compared to December 2018),” said Dinesh Kumar, a police inspector overseeing a special tourist police station near the mausoleum.

Kumar said both Indian and foreign tourists have been calling police control rooms in Agra for information about the security situation. Many preferred to stay away despite assurances.

“Blocking the internet has affected travel and tourism in Agra by about 50-60%,” said Sandeep Arora, president of the Agra Tourism Development Foundation.

Similarly, in Assam, the head of Tourism Development Corporation, Jayanta Malla Baruah told the news agency that around five lakh tourists visit the state every December. “But this time, due to the ongoing protests and travel advisories by various countries, the number is down by 90% if not more,” he added.

Meanwhile, tourist footfall in Goa this Christmas season as compared to previous years has declined sharply, industry stakeholders said on Tuesday.

The number of visitors has gone down by almost 50 per cent this time, they said while expressing hope that more tourists will come during the New Year celebration next week.

"Protests against the amended citizenship law have affected tourist arrivals during this Christmas season. Occupancy in hotels has been badly hit and beach shack owners are also getting fewer customers," Goa Shack Owners' Welfare Society president Cruz Cardoso told PTI.

He said shacks were set up before the Christmas season but they have been lying vacant as hardly any tourists are walking in.

More than 300 shacks were erected along the 105-km stretch of Goa's beaches for the tourist season, which starts in October and ends before the monsoon in June every year.

"The Christmas season is going to be dull this year. We are hoping the New Year festivities will bring in some cheers to the tourism industry," Cardoso said.

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google News, Instagram 

Join our official telegram channel (@nationalherald) and stay updated with the latest headlines