Since Jagannath temple opening, Digha hoteliers see 20 pct surge in occupancy

Hoteliers in West Bengal`s Digha have experienced a 20 per cent surge in occupancy as travellers in large numbers are thronging the seaside town since the opening of the Jagannath temple in April, an official said on Friday.

Around 90 per cent of the boarders are coming for a two-day stay in hotels to visit the town and offer puja to Lord Jagannath in the new temple, Digha Hoteliers Association joint secretary Bipradas Chatterjee told PTI.

“Since the opening of the Jagannath temple in April this year, the room occupancy in all hotels has increased by 20 per cent on average. Most of the visitors now arrive in Digha for a short stay, and it is too early to say if this surge in occupancy will sustain in the long run or not,” he added.

Lakhs of devotees of Lord Jagannath have already arrived in the coastal town from across the state and elsewhere.

Chatterjee said the number of visitors to around 115 hotels in Old Digha and 600 in New Digha, Sankarpur and Tajpur has been over 20 lakh since April 30, when the temple was inaugurated.

“We need to assess the situation after six months to see whether the opening of the temple has resulted in a sustainable boom in the tourism sector in Digha or it is a short-term initial effect,” he added.

The senior hotelier said the road before the temple needs to be widened.

“There has to be a proper mechanism to cope with the rush of people on certain occasions like Rath Yatra and Snan Yatra. This time, there is high security, but this has to be in place throughout the year,” another association member said.

Chatterjee said the state-run Digha Shankarpur Development Authority has been approached by the association to sort out several issues to make the seaside town an important destination for travellers.

Asked about an abnormal hike in room tariffs since the temple came up, he said, “Some unscrupulous hoteliers resorted to unfair practices, but we have taken strong action against them.”

The hotel owners have been asked to put on display board their room tariffs for transparency and fairness, he added.

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