Bhubaneswar: The tourism sector in Odisha which was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, has started limping back to normalcy with the relaxation of restrictions and opening of major temples and tourist destinations across the State.
The Puri-Konark marine drive, the most sought after holiday destination which witnessed a deserted look throughout the year due to the pandemic, is gradually bustling in activities as visitors have started thronging the place for vacation.
The picture of Ramachandi beach on the marine drive, which usually gets maximum tourists footfall especially during December and January, has something different to say this time. Only a handful of visitors are seen enjoying the holiday amidst Covid-19 guidelines.
"We can't express our pleasure in words as we are out of our house after a long hiatus. People especially children and youths were mentally depressed due to Covid restrictions that forced them to remain indoors for a long time," said Namita Das, a tourist at Ramachandi beach near Konark.
Such is the scene at Pir Jahania beach near Astarang in Puri, Udaypur and Talsari beach in Balasore and Golden beach in Puri.
The Chilika lake and Satpada dolphin sanctuary which always see a footfall of lakhs of tourists, exhibit a completely different picture this year. The number of tourists has marginally declined due to the communication barrier following covid-19 induced lockdown.
"In December, this spot used to witness a huge congregation of tourists. But this time around, footfall has dropped to 20%. Our boating business has collapsed due to the declining tourist inflow," Debasis Das, tourist guide at Satapada said.
The decreasing trend of travellers has also adversely affected the hotel and hospitality sector. Hoteliers said that their business will get a boost only after train and air services are accelerated. Though Odisha has allowed operation of hotels, it has failed to infuse life back into the industry due to lack of tourist inflow.
"We request the Government to ply more trains at least to the neighbouring States so that we can expect more tourists from outside the State. It will give a boost to already collapsed tourism sector in Odisha, said Debasis Patnaik, a hotelier.
It is expected that the tourist inflow will gradually increase as the temples across the State are reopening gradually in a phased manner.
The Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri has already been reopened. In first and second phase, the servitors, their family members and residents of Puri have been allowed for darshan. Finally, the shrine will be thrown open for public from January 3 amid strict Covid-19 protocols.
Similarly, Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar has reopened today while other temples are also set to reopen in the coming weeks.