More than 550 hotels in East Midnapore’s Digha will resume operations from Wednesday after remaining closed for more than three months because of the lockdown.

Government curbs on going to the beach and bathing in the sea will be withdrawn from July 1, Dipra Das Chakravarty, the Digha hoteliers’ association joint secretary, said on Tuesday.

Hoteliers are offering discounts on room tariffs and following hygiene protocol to restore confidence among tourists, Chakravarty said.

The reopening of hotels, organised by the association and the district administration, was initially planned for June 15.

Back then, 60-odd major hotels in the seaside town had reopened. But residents were uncomfortable with the idea of tourists in the backdrop of the novel coronavirus threat.

The situation is different now because no positive case has been recorded since June 15 (as of Tuesday), an association official said.

Association joint secretary Chakravarty said reopening hotels came with its own set of challenges, including absence of public transport options. “Uncertainty surrounds special and express trains connecting Digha to the rest of Bengal. So, let us see how the demand (among tourists) is,” he said.

“The science museum will reopen, too,” New Digha hotelier Ashish Pradhan said. “We hope that families visit Digha. People will no doubt take safety measures, but we will take plenty as well.”

The collective losses in Digha’s hospitality sector had crossed Rs 100 crore in May.

The local economy desperately needs a tourism boost, an official of the Digha-Sankarpur Development Authority (DSDA) said.

Sisir Adhikari, the Trinamul MP from Kanthi, said close to 600 hotels have been asked to stay open in July. “Safety measures will be ensured,” Adhikari, who is also the chairman of the DSDA, said.

Association joint secretary Chakravarty said residents had realised the need for hotels to reopen. “We just hope transport won’t be a hurdle now.”