The majestic snow-caped hills come later for the tourists
visiting this hill station. You notice them first, hollering for your
attention. If you choose to ignore, they follow you till you relent.
Most tourists visiting this hill station
have similar experiences regarding hotel touts. However, if the
initiative taken by police is any indication, the visitors might
get a relief from these touts.
This could go a long way in developing a better opinion of the
hill station.
Darjeeling police have recently started taking `stern action`
against `over-enthusiastic middlemen`, who in most cases
fail to deliver what they promise.
Around 40 people have been rounded up recently, which includes
18 hotels touts.
`The tourist flow is picking up and we have to be more alert.
We are rounding up over-enthusiastic touts to make sure that they
do not get away with bad behaviour,` said the Darjeeling inspector-in-charge,
C. Bhutia. Only after the middlemen assured the police of mending
their ways were they released.
`During the coming tourist season, we will deploy a lot of
police personnel across the town and at isolated stretches to make
sure that goons do not harass visitors. After all, tourism is a
major sources of revenue for this place`, said Bhutia.
The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Hotel Association has welcomed the initiative
taken by the police to check the growing menace of touts, which
they feel, is tarnishing the image of the place.
`Middlemen cannot be stopped from doing their job. It is a
major source of income and does not require any initial investment.
But they should at least behave in a way that will benefit everyone`,
said vice president of the association Ganu Giri.
Hoteliers are of the opinion that many of the touts are drug addicts
who misbehave with tourists. The touts get 30 per cent on each booking
for every customer brought a hotel. A couple of years ago, the rate
was 20 per cent.
`Competition is tough as a number of hotels have mushroomed
in the town. Hoteliers too have to share the blame for they pamper
the touts to get customers`, said a hotelier.
The Hotel Association, however, believes there should be better
coordination between the district administration and those in the
tourism trade so that there is a rise in the revenue earnings from
this sector. |
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