Jaipur:
The Pushkar Fair, one of India's top tourist attractions, begins next week. But global recession has hit the fair hard and tourist bookings have slumped by over 50 per cent. Worse still, the Pushkar lake that attracts thousands for a holy dip has gone dry. The fair, a mesmerising mix of culture, commerce,camels and colours that was once the pride of Rajasthan's tourism industry is now facing a bleak season.
Billed as the world's biggest cattle fair, for years it has attracted over ten thousand tourists annually. But this time the situation looks grim. Sanjay Kaushik a travel agent says, "Pushkar is a prime product of Rajasthan but even after giving a lot of discounts to tourist, we are not able to get more tourists. Our bookings are almost 50 per cent less than what we were getting till this year."
Besides the economic meltdown and swine flu threat, advisories by USA and Israel asking their citizens not to travel to India during the festive period are being considered a crucial factor for the slump that is hitting Pushkar.
Kuldeep Singh, Secretary, Rajasthan Hoteliers Association says, "Advisories like the ones issued recently have had an adverse effect . Most tourists feel that if they ignore an advisory and travel to a country where their government has asked them not to go and then get caught in some mishap, then they won't get any of the insurance money that they see as a cover for themselves."
The situation worsens with the Pushkar lake turning dry and devotees across the country who visit the area for a holy dip are set to be disappointed.
For years the Pushkar Fair has been the yardstick to judge tourist seasons in Rajasthan. And the sharp dip in bookings for this popular event is a terrible signal for a state where every seventh person now depends on tourism to earn a living.