Double Whammy For AP Travel Operators

The loss we have suffered during the first half of this year is colossal at a time when we were recovering from the setback inflicted on us during the pandemic -- K Vijay Mohan, president, TTAA, tells Bizz Buzz

Visakhapatnam:The Pahalgam massacre, the subsequent India-Pakistan war and the sudden surge in Covid cases in Singapore and Hong Kong have caused a body blow to overseas tourism from Andhra Pradesh.

Unlike other States, the problem in Andhra Pradesh is manifold as the operators have voluntarily imposed a total ban on booking of tickets as well as group tours/customised trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan following their support to Pakistan after India made a precision strike on terror infrastructure under Operation Sindoor in protest against barbaric assassination of innocent 25 Indian and one Nepali tourist at Pahalgam on April 22.

Post-Pahalgam all those who booked their tickets and hotels in Jammu & Kashmir to beat the heat in Andhra Pradesh in summer cancelled through their travel operators. This was followed by a ban imposed by the travel agents voluntarily on travel by any tourist to Turkey and Azerbaijan. Now, due to the alarming rise in Covid cases, the use of masks has been made compulsory in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Moreover, the cancellation of direct flights from Visakhapatnam to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur by Air Asia on the pretext of lower demand came as a bolt from the blue for the travel industry at a time when budget tourists’ number was going up substantially from North Andhra, South Odisha and parts of Chattisgarh. “The loss we have suffered during the first half of this year is colossal at a time when we were recovering from the setback inflicted on us during the pandemic,” TTAA president K Vijay Mohan told Bizz Buzz on Sunday.