Domestic tourism builds morale at backpacker hub amid global crises

After Covid, Russia-Ukraine war has kept international travellers down to a trickle in Delhi's Paharganj

Ohanna Le Gleinnec is enjoying a lazy lunch at a local eatery in New Delhi’s Paharganj. Since arriving in the capital five days ago, Gleinnec has been busy buying scarves and stoles. The French businesswoman sources clothes from India to sell them in her home country. This time she is back after a gap of two years, thanks to Covid.

“Things have changed so much since I was last here (in 2019),” she says. Back then, Paharganj, which is home to 1,200-1,500 hotels across various price points, used to be packed with international tourists.

“A lot of small shops and tea stalls,