A file picture of an empty street in Kurseong. Frequents shutdowns drive tourists away from the hills and force them to explore new destinations like Himachal Pradesh.

Siliguri, June 29: If Darjeeling and Sikkim draw fewer tourists this Puja, some of the missing faces may be found in Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.

With a few days to go before bookings for the Puja season start (reservations begin three months in advance), tour operators say the number of queries about Himachal and Arunachal has gone up.

“Himachal, which has been gaining popularity over the years with its infrastructure and peaceful environment, is a clear winner among Puja tourists,” said Suddhabrata Deb, the secretary of the Travel Agents’ Association of Bengal.

“Sikkim, despite being one of the favourites, is losing out because of the turmoil in Darjeeling. Kumaon and Garhwal Hills of Himachal Pradesh come as obvious alternatives among hill destinations,” he added.

Deb said over 90 per cent of the 70-odd stalls at a tourism fair in Calcutta, which ended today, had on offer tour packages to Himachal Pradesh and saw “excellent” response. The three-day festival was organised by Ananda Bazar Patrika, in association with the West Bengal Tourism Department, and supported by the Travel Agents’ Association of Bengal.

“Assuming Puja travel to begin from October 2, which is Gandhi Jayanti, the bookings will open on July 2 and we are expecting a large number of queries made at the fair to translate into bookings,” Deb added.

Deb said Arunachal is also emerging as a destination on a significant scale.

“Despite the fact that tourism-related infrastructure is not adequate in Arunachal, people have shown interest in visiting the northeastern state,” he said.

However, Raj Basu, the secretary of the East Himalayan Travel and Tour Operators Association, said Arunachal’s success was based on its own strengths.

“The Darjeeling unrest may give Arunachal some kind of an advantage, but its present-day popularity is in line with a trend that has been there for the past few years,” Basu said.

“Tourism infrastructure is coming up and both government and private sectors are promoting the place. But, in a situation similar to Sikkim, Arunachal’s progress depends on the peaceful atmosphere in Assam, which tourists must cross to reach the state,” he added.

However, north Bengal has takers among Puja tourists. “There are a large number of queries about the Dooars and we expect about 3,500-4,500 groups to be finalised for the journey,” Deb said.

The Dooars’ gain can never be proportional to Darjeeling’s (or Sikkim’s) loss.

“The Dooars was never a destination on its own accord and is an add-on to the Darjeeling and Sikkim circuit,” Basu said.