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With campaigning for impending general elections picking up momentum and its consequent adverse impact on the tourists inflow, the room bookings in hotels in the state has seen a sharp decline.
The coastal town Puri, abode of lord Jagannath, has registered decline in bookings to the tune of 80 per cent due to the non-arrival of tourists because of the general elections. Puri has about 600 hotels including 50-60 of premium brand, 400 standard hotels and the rest being holiday homes and lodgings.
“The bookings (of hotel rooms) has dropped by about 80 per cent as the arrival of tourists to Puri has declined for the elections”, said Ramkrushshna Das Mohapatra, President, Hotel Association of Puri (HAP).
Summer season opens up lucrative business opportunity for hoteliers as key examinations marking the end of academic sessions are over and tourists give a visit to the beach town to enjoy their long vacations.
The rush of tourists from Bengal to the pilgrim town has nosedived as the election campaigning is at peak in their state and the rooms are only booked by the local people, he added.Expressing similar concerns, Uma Sankar Panigrahi, Managing Director – Hotel Mayuree, Berhampur and vice chairman – The Hotel & Restaurant Association of Orissa (HRAO) said, the bookings are minus 30 per cent compared to same period of the previous fiscal and stricter guidelines imposed on booking rooms by the police administration for the upcoming general elections has added to the woes.
"Despite the discounts, which are offered usually during this period, the rooms are lying vacant. Ensuing polls coupled with rise in mercury level are the main reasons for the decline. We are hopeful that the room bookings will peak up after the voting for the poll process in the state is over", said Rabi Narayan Mishra, Director, Hotel Garden Resort, a Puri based hotelier.
The general elections will be held in the country from April 7 to May 12 in nine phases and the votes will be counted on May 16.
In the state polling will be held simultaneously for the 147-member assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats in two phases: April 10 and 17. In the first phase, elections will be held for 10 parliamentary constituencies and 70 seats of state assembly, mostly belonging to southern and western parts of Odisha. The second phase voting will be held on April 17 in 77 assembly constituencies and 11 Lok Sabha seats in the coastal belt.
