The hotels, shops and taxi services on the Aurangabad-Ellora, Aurangabad-Jalgaon roads, would be jam packed with Indian and foreign tourists. However, this year, there are no tourists due to the closure of historical monuments. The tourism professionals are also facing a serious challenge for survival and many are on the brink of starvation.
In the process of unlocking, many tourist destinations in India have been opened for tourists. In Maharashtra too, Konkan shores, Raigad fort, Elephanta caves have been opened. However, as the world-famous Ellora-Ajanta Caves are closed for the past eight months. Thus the tourism professionals dependent on these sites are now unemployed. The professionals said, October to March is an important time for tourism in Aurangabad. During this period, the combined financial turnover of tourism sector in district was up to Rs 500 crore. However now the livelihood of ticket booking offices, tour operators, taxi drivers, guides, hotels, restaurants, hawkers, handicraft traders, shopkeepers, fruit and florists is at stake.
Rs 50 crore turnover stalled
In the 15 days after Diwali, the financial turnover of Aurangabad tourism sector was around Rs 50 crore. There are 50 active guides in Ajanta, Ellora and Bibi-Ka-Maqbara. During Diwali, each of them used to earn between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh. Now their income has gone down to zero. There are around 25 Himru shops in Khultabad, Ellora and Ajanta. During the fortnight of Diwali, the business of a shop was around Rs 1.50 to 2 lakhs. The daily turnover of the professionals providing taxi facilities to tourists used to be around Rs 50,000 but now it is not even Rs 5,000 in eight days.