According to a report in Business Standard, hospitality industry in Darjeeling, including tour package operators, the hotel business and other auxiliaries have been hit hard due to the ensuing agitation for a separate Gorkhaland by Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha. The continuing strikes and violence have had cascading effects on small and budget hotels, as well as large upscale hotels.
Suren Llama, owner of Hotel Zodiac in Darjeeling said, "About 70 per cent of our bookings from May 24 to June 5 were cancelled due to the strike. We have lost Rs 25,000-30,000 everyday due to that."
The sentiment is echoed by travel agencies and tour package operators in Kolkata. Devender Parekh, owner of India Travel Pro said, "Every year during peak season a total of about 40-55 families visit the area in tours we arrange. This totals about 350-400 people. This year we have received no bookings at all until now, and there seem to be little or no prospects of the season seeing an improvement."
Parekh said, "People who want to go on vacation will go anyway, if not to Darjeeling then to Mussoorie. It is always the hospitality businesses based in the physical boundaries of the area that face maximum impact."
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