Udaipur has been buzzing with visitors since the Christmas holidays began.
Jaipur:
The New Year celebrations were a low key affair across tourist destinations in Rajasthan as the state government imposed strict night curfew with an eye to rein in the state’s Covid graph.
No parties and no firecrackers were allowed in the state as part of the last week order leaving tourists and hotels, which rely on footfalls during this time of the year, disappointed.
Udaipur, which is among the most popular tourist destination in the state, has been buzzing with visitors since the Christmas holidays began. The New Year eve restrictions have, however, not dampened the mood of some tourists who are still flocking to the lake city.
“We always come to Udaipur for New Year since it’s right next door. We didn’t want to sit at home and be depressed so we came anyway despite the restrictions, so this time if we can’t party some of us friends will party in our rooms,” said Abhishek Nath, a tourist from Gujarat.
Most visitors, however, seemed to settle for low key celebrations
Soumya and Nancy, who came to Udaipur from Bhopal, chose a quiet bonfire at the hotel with other guests.
New year eve parties that went on beyond midnight are being replaced by quiet celebrations for in house guests at most hotels.
The tourist industry has also seen upto 30 per cent cancellations following Covid restrictions.
“We are telling guests to watch the last sunset of 2020,” said Geetika Singh and Vishvijay who run whistling teal a rooftop restaurant overlooking lake pichola.
“We will do a live band and we will do sundowners today instead of a evening party that will end at 8 pm,” they said.
But most hotel owners in Udaipur who were looking forward to winter visitors are disappointed.
The tourism industry has suffered the most since the pandemic, with turnovers down to 6-8 per cent compared to last season.
“Hotels are full to the brim but at the same time there have been cancellations due to the fact that even other states are asking for Covid certificates when you return, so it is a dampener,” rued Akshay Singh Shaktawat of Jagat Niwas hotel.
