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Closure rumours hit tourist inflow to Mahabaleshwar

Pune: The otherwise busy streets of Mahabaleshwar wear a deserted look now, with vacationers staying away from the hill station against the backdrop of “closure rumours” following heavy rainfall at the tourist hotspot.

Sources from the tourism industry in Mahabaleshwar said the rumours have cost them over 50% dip in business.



Girish Makhijani of Hare Krishna Comfort Tours told TOI that several of his clients cancelled their trip to Mahabaleshwar and Tamhini Ghat this season owing to the excess showers as well as closure rumours of the hill station. “Not only the rumours, but also sludge from continuous rain and landslide alerts caused travellers to cancel trips to Mahabaleshwar. One-day trips to these spots were cancelled in particular, with big vehicles like 17-seaters opting out of trips to Mahabaleshwar,” he said.

Makhijani said there had been a 30% dip in tourists to Mahabaleshwar this season due to heavy rainfall and closure rumours on social media. “Most travellers either modified their plans to visit some other location or junked them completely. Against the backdrop of the rumours, people simply do not want to take a risk visiting the hill station,” he added.

Rajendra Chandankar, owner, Delta Cars said he stopped sending his cabs to the hill station from the last 20 days or so. “Our cabs are operational as usual to other locations like Mumbai and Pune, but we dropped Mahabaleshwar from the list owing to the heavy rainfall and landslide alerts. We simply do not want to take the risk,” he said.

Nitin Bhilare, president of the Strawberry Growers Association of India, said, “Rumours about the hill station have been doing rounds on social media and WhatsApp. One such message stated that Mahabaleshwar was closed to tourists due to the heavy rainfall. This created panic among travellers. However, nothing could be further from the truth. As a result of such rumours, weekends at the hill station have seen a steep drop in tourists by about 50-60%, which is affecting businesses here.”

Vijay Shewakramani, owner, Brightland Resort and Spa in Mahabaleshwar, said, “The dip in clients began around two months ago, especially after the rumours on social media. Clients to the hotel have dipped by around 75% over the last two months.”

In a huge contrast, owner of Shree Vinayak Holidays Santosh Gupta said the hotel occupancy could have been hit as more people were opting for homestay options in Mahabaleshwar. “Per day homestay rates are about 40% lower than that of hotels. Hence, travellers prefer to stay at homestays. Travel rush to the hill station otherwise is the same as last year.”

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