West Bengal’s travel operators are feeling impacts on their businesses from the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan — with trip cancellations now being multiplied across the country.

The initial impact, in the fallout of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, had been limited to Jammu and Kashmir as a destination, where “vacationers had already cancelled travel plans”, operators say.

Kolkata-based Explore India travel agency owner, Akash Kundu, said his agency has now faced “100 percent cancellations” of trips across the country. “Neither we are taking any booking now nor are we sending our tour groups which were booked. Till June, we will keep it like that,” he said.

“During this period of summer vacations, we always have high bookings. But in the last few days, people have asked to cancel their bookings even if they don’t get refunds,” he said. The earlier impact was limited to Jammu and Kashmir, where “vacationers had already cancelled travel plans” according to travel operators.

The effect initially saw tourists being diverted from Kashmir to alternative destinations like Leh-Ladakh and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh after the situation in Pahalgam. However, as Vishal Agarwal, another tour operator, explained, “Now, everyone wants to stay home with the situation being grim in the Northern and Western regions. Many airports have also been closed. It reminds us of the COVID period.”

Despite the widespread disruption, Rupal Dey, owner of Duniya Darshan Tour and Travels stated that “booking for North Bengal and Sikkim’s side is still on and people are avoiding the Western and Northern side of the country for vacations.”

“We are not thinking about business. In fact, we ourselves are appealing to people to avoid travelling in this tough time. We must support India and we stand by our country in its fight against terrorism,” said Kundu.