The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) and the Bengal Safari Park which is on the outskirts of Siliguri witnessed the highest footfall of tourists and visitors on the occasion of Christmas.

While close to 1,000 passengers boarded the toy train to enjoy the joy ride between Darjeeling and Ghoom railway stations — the most popular service — on Monday, more than 5,000 people turned up at the safari park — one-of-its-kind open animal enclosure in the region — during past two days.

“It was a record footfall that we witnessed yesterday (Monday). All 12 joy rides were packed with passengers. Altogether, 954 passengers enjoyed the rides and we earned Rs 10.75 lakh. Both in terms of the number of passengers and the revenue in a single day, it is a new record in the history of the DHR,” DHR director Priyanshu said on Tuesday.

There was a similar rush at the Bengal Safari Park, also known as North Bengal Wild Animal Park, which is on the fringes of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

“Over the past two days, there was a massive turnout of visitors. On Sunday, 5,399 visitors were at the park, which is the highest-ever daily footfall recorded in the park. Also, yesterday, 5,099 people turned up at the park. We earned Rs 6.46 lakh on Sunday and Rs 5.42 lakh yesterday (Monday),” said Kamal Sarkar, the director of the park.

The entire hills are flooded with tourists these days. Whether it is the popular destinations like Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Mirik and Gangtok or the offbeat rural destinations, the accommodations are almost full at most of the places.

“There is an unprecedented rush of tourists to the hills during the current winter season. The state government’s initiatives to develop tourism infrastructure in the region, along with steady promotions, augmented the footfall of
tourists. It is good for the tourism industry and its stakeholders,” said Jyoti Ghosh,
the deputy director (north) of the Bengal tourism department.

He said along with hotels, almost every homestay had steady bookings for at least another week.

The Kalimpong district has around 1,100 homestays. Over 300 homestays have
come up in Darjeeling district and there is a similar number of homestays in the Dooars also.

“The scene is no different in the Dooars. Hotels, resorts and homestays are having over 90 per cent occupancy rates,” said a source.

Those associated with the industry pointed out that the rise in the footfall was because a section of tourists, who had planned visits to the region, especially Sikkim and Kalimpong, during the Durga Puja and Diwali holidays, had cancelled their trips because of the October 4 flash flood in the Teesta.

“We had faced losses then. But now, many of these tourists are visiting the hills.
Also, NH10 (the principal highway that connects Sikkim and Kalimpong with the rest of the country) has reopened after the natural disaster. Naturally, tourists are no longer feeling uncertain about their travel to the hills. We expect the turnout to be steady for another two weeks or so,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network.