Quake hits tourist arrival in Darjeeling

The Nepal earthquake and subsequent tremors which shook north Bengal last week have led to cancellations of hotel bookings in Darjeeling by many visitors who were planning a trip to the hill station during the peak tourist season.
Many hoteliers in Darjeeling are, however, hopeful that the tourist season will start picking up in the next 10-15 days.
Pradip Lama, Secretary of Darjeeling Association of Travel Agents (DATA), said, "Reports of the epicentre of the quake being somewhere close to Mirik near Darjeeling have disturbed many travellers. That is one reason behind many cancellations."
The other factor, he said, "is that many groups from Gujarat and Maharastha usually come for the Nepal-Darjeeling- Sikkim tourism circuit. Nepal is out of the question and many are jittery about going to Sikkim because of the 2011 earthquake."

"As of now, our estimate is that there has been about 30 per cent booking cancellation here. But in the case of big groups, those who book 25-30 rooms in bulk, the cancellation could be as high as 50 per cent in May," Lama said.
Three persons who were killed in the severe earthquake of April 25 were from Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and Naxalbari, all in north Bengal.