The wording of the Bengal government’s communiqué of fresh restrictions issued on Sunday to be effective from Monday to curb the latest spike in Covid-19 cases has led to confusion in the tourism sector across north Bengal, stakeholders of which are fearing another slump.

On Sunday, state chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi issued the restrictions which will be in force till January 15.

The notification states that from January 3, “all entertainment parks, zoos, tourist places shall remain closed.”

The words “tourist places” has created confusion among stakeholders who said “places” shed no clarity on whether the curbs were applicable to tourist towns or specific spots.

“It is not clear whether tourist places mean tourist spots or tourist destinations. Hundreds of tourists are visiting the hills and the Dooars and many of them have started calling us to know whether they can finish their trip. We have no answers for them and we can only hope the state government will soon come up with a clarification in this regard,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network (HHTDN).

A tour operator in Siliguri said the restrictions could be imposed in tourist spots to prevent assembly of tourists in large numbers in view of the Covid-19 threat.

“For example, a tourist can visit Darjeeling but cannot visit Batasia Loop or the famous pagoda. But we don’t know whether the notification means that no tourist can visit Darjeeling. There is no restriction on hotels running or anyone travelling by train, road or air within the country,” he pointed out.

Those based in the Dooars said that the notification has also not clarified whether tourists would be allowed in the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

“Tourists who are visiting the Dooars and those who have their trips scheduled in the coming days have started asking us whether they can enjoy the famed car and elephant safaris. Also, some of them are planning to shorten or cancel their trips, given the current situation. We are ourselves perplexed and cannot satisfy them with replies as we do not have any concrete information,” said Biplab Dey, assistant secretary, Dooars Tourism Development Forum.

Senior players of the industry are keeping their fingers crossed.

Virtually everyone this paper spoke to said that the tourism sector underwent a miserable phase since 2020 when the pandemic first started and the going had been tough for everyone associated with it.

“It is only during the past few months that the tourism industry had started reviving to an extent with the inflow of visitors on the rise. We apprehend that these new restrictions will lead to cancellations and all those associated with the industry will have to face a fresh challenge,” said Raj Basu, a veteran in the sector in north Bengal.

(Additional inputs by Anirban Choudhury in Alipurduar)