The guesthouse in Ghatshila. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Sept. 28: Tourists, especially from West Bengal, can look forward to luxury stay at Ghatshila this festive season. A double-storied sprawling tourist complex ? constructed by the state government ? opens in October. ?To be managed by Calcutta-based Getex Tours and Travels for three years, the complex will open for tourists by the first week of October,? said state tourism director S.S. Prasad.

Getex was among the four bidders to stake claim for this first government-built tourist complex in entire Singhbhum region comprising three districts of East and West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan.

Estimated to cost the state exchequer nearly a crore, this finely decorated complex on the side of National Highway 33, near Plundungri, has 18 well furnished double bedrooms with air conditioners and television sets. It also has a dining hall, conference room and parking facilities. The agency is planning to open a bar soon.

Otherwise, lack of infrastructure in the tourist spots in and around the city has forced travel agents to drop weekend tourism packages, which at one point were highly popular among the tourists here and in neighbouring states like West Bengal. But, in the absence of proper accommodation facilities, there has been a sharp fall in the response from tourists opting for the package.

?The weekend packages were meant for working professionals for the three days ? Friday to Sunday. But we were forced to withdraw the packages due to drastic fall in the response from tourists,? said Anjani Nidhi, manager, Eastern Travels. According to Nidhi, the tourists want to stay in good hotels and rest houses, which are rare in this part of the state. Some corporate houses offered ?executive holiday plans? through travel agents. ?But they have become history,? Nidhi said.

Steep fall in airfares has also played spoilsport to the fact that people now prefer flying to distant places instead of visiting the local tourist sites, even during weekends. ?We receive enquiries from people wanting to fly to destinations in other parts of the country and return in a short span,? revealed the official of Eastern Travels.

But there are several operators who are still willing to continue the weekend tourism packages provided they get tourists for such trips. ?We are open to the idea of weekend tourism. If anybody wants to go to Chandil, Ghatshila, Kananbera, Rajrappa for a weekend, we can arrange it,? said Ranjan Pal, owner of Ambika Travels. Tourism officials say acquiring land to set up infrastructure is one of the major hurdles confronting the department.