Amarnath yatra bookings drop 50%

The Uttarakhand floods have caused a fear psychosis among Pune tourists. Now when the bookings for Amarnath tours have begun, the tours and travel operators in the city said that the number of inquiries has come down by almost 50-60% compared to last year.

Rajesh Deshpande of Jayshree Travels said, “The number of inquiries for Amarnath tour has dipped considerably. Now people think that anything can happen if you visit the Himalayas. Every year my travel agency used to send two to three batches on Amarnath tour and each batch consisted of 40 to 60 people.”

At Vihar Travels, there has been cancellation of Amarnath tour bookings already done in the wake of the Uttarakhand tragedy. Hrishikesh Pujari of Vihar Travels said, “Two batches have already gone to Amarnath. One left on June 21 and another on June 28. Thirteen people of the 29-member batch of June 21 dropped out after the news about Uttarakhand was flashed. Nine of the 20 tourists canceled the bookings in the second batch.”

Pune-based destination management consultant Prashant More said, “Many people are now planning to travel outside India. There are inquiries and bookings for Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.”

Sunil Gole of Bhagyashree Travels said, “Uttarakhand and Amarnath are two different destination. But there are less inquiries and drop in bookings.”

Pujari said the decision of the government to start registration of Amarnath pilgrims on its own is a welcome move. “It would prove useful in keeping track of the number of people,” he said.
Gole said, “Unlike Uttarakhand, where most parts are remote, soldiers are stationed at camps located at a distance of one kilometer from each other in Amarnath and these camps also have help centres. That makes Amarnath tour safer.”

Ghanshyam Kavi, a senior citizen and writer has cancelled his trip. He said, “It is always dangerous during such times to go to high altitudes. As in these regions every night it rains or snowfall which makes the weather difficult.”