India’s tourism and medical business suffers major setback.
India’s tourism and medical business has suffered a major setback due to the strained diplomatic relations following the fall of the Awami League government. Bangladesh is one of the main sources of India’s dollar income through tourism and medical treatment.
The country’s trade and commerce is deteriorating day by day. The latest incident of attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala and flag burning and anti-Bangladesh statements by some Indian leaders are making the situation worse. Despite offering huge discounts, hotels in Kolkata are not getting boarders. Shops centered around Kolkata’s New Market are also devoid of Bangladeshi customers. Money exchange establishments are closing one by one. Again, hospitals are not receiving Bangladeshi patients due to visa-related complications. In this situation, the value of the Indian currency rupee reached an all-time low against the US dollar on Wednesday. The rupee’s rate against the dollar has fallen to 84.75 for the first time.
Manjurul Alam Nayan, Managing Director of AoTrek Tourism in Bangladesh, told our time yesterday that half of the country’s total tourism has decreased in a few months. Where there used to be an average of seven flights per day in India, there are now two flights per week. A portion of people going to India for medical treatment and sightseeing are now going to Thailand. However, that number will not even be 30 percent.
Regarding domestic tourism, Manjurul Alam said that tourists are not able to go to St. Martin’s and the hilly regions easily. Tourists were recently stopped from going to the hilly regions due to shelling. People want to travel within the country if they cannot travel outside the country. Bangladesh is also failing to take that opportunity.
Several Bangladeshis who recently visited West Bengal, India, told our time that in December-January, there used to be a crowd of Bangladeshis in the shops around Kolkata’s New Market and others. Those who could afford to do everything from sightseeing to wedding shopping would choose Kolkata. But this week, there was no crowd of Bangladeshi buyers in the markets of Kolkata. There are fewer boarders in hotels. It can be said that there has been a major collapse in the medical and tourism industry of India, centered on Bangladesh.
It can be seen on the websites of various hotels in Kolkata that there is a boom in discounts. During this tourist season, where one would sweat to get a hotel room, hotels are offering huge discounts. Yesterday, a 75 percent discount was announced at the elite hotel Hotel O’Park in Kolkata. Most hotels have announced discounts ranging from 30-75 percent.
Those concerned said that Indians working in Bangladesh send a significant amount of remittances to their home country. Bangladeshi tourists and patients spend a large amount of dollars when they go to India. Indian contractors and service providers have businesses in Bangladesh. Every year, more than $20 billion goes to India from Bangladesh in various ways. On the other hand, close to $2 billion comes from India. As a result, many Indian media outlets are trying to create tension with exaggerated information and fake news about the oppression of minorities in Bangladesh, which is causing more damage to India.
Meanwhile, in this situation, the Hotel Owners Association of Tripura and the Hotel Owners Association of Malda district of West Bengal have announced not to pay rent to Bangladeshis. A private hospital in Kolkata has also announced not to see Bangladeshi patients.
However, those concerned said that some businessmen are calling for a boycott of Bangladeshis to get publicity. This is increasing tension. In fact, there is little Bangladeshi traffic in these areas and hospitals. And Kolkata’s New Market is dependent on Bangladeshi buyers. Kolkata’s businessmen have knowingly not joined the boycott call.
It is known that several hundred hotels, more than a hundred money exchangers, restaurants and transport businesses in Kolkata’s New Market area are dependent on Bangladeshis. The livelihood of thousands of families related to these businesses depends on Bangladeshis. They are the ones who are under more pressure due to the strained relations between the two countries.
Businessmen said that imports have decreased by about 18 percent since August 5. Exports have decreased by about 28 percent. Therefore, India is suffering more due to the deterioration of relations. Due to uncertainty, traders have imported onions from Egypt and Turkey instead of India this year. Last month, raw materials and chemicals for the garment sector were imported from Pakistan.
Sources said that every year, an average of 800,000 Bangladeshis go abroad for medical treatment. A large part of them go to India. Annually, 4 billion dollars are spent on medical treatment abroad, of which at least 2 billion dollars are spent in India. India will be the one to lose more income due to boycotts or pressure by supporting propaganda.
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