The tourism sector in Assam has been severely hit by violent protests against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the loss is an estimated at \Rs 1,000 crore, a top official said on Tuesday.
The sector was badly impacted in December and will also be in January, two of the peak months for tourist inflow, Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah said here.
The peak tourist season in Assam is from December to March and accounts for 48 per cent of the sector's contribution for the entire year, he said. “Due to the violent protests during December, we suffered badly.
We estimate that Rs 500 crore will be the loss to the sector for December and January each,” he told a press conference here.
The hotel industry alone suffered a loss of Rs 60 crore in 15 days since December 11, when violence erupted across Assam against the CAA.
Along with domestic tourists, the flow from abroad also took a hit after a number of countries issued travel advisories due to the ongoing protests, Baruah said.
The earnings of the State from the tourism sector is Rs 2,000-2,500 crore per annum.
“Because of the impact on the peak season, we expect 30 per cent fall in tourist footfall in 2019-20. We hope to slightly recover from this situation in February,” he added.