Tourists

Gangtok, July 09: Tourists in large numbers have been flocking to Sikkim after the state opened up initially for fully vaccinated tourists from July 5, and the government is planning to usher in more relaxations to help revive tourism.

“Tourists have started visiting the state in good numbers. If everything goes fine, in coming weeks, the government will give more relaxation for revival of tourism and economy,” Kapil Meena, additional secretary of Sikkim’s tourism department told media.

Sikkim’s home department revised its guideline on Thursday allowing entry for partially vaccinated individuals if at least one member of their family has been fully vaccinated as well as unvaccinated children accompanied by vaccinated parents if they produce a negative RT-PCR test result to be allowed admission through the Melli and Rangpo check posts.

Meena also said that the government has launched a ‘Visit Sikkim 2022’ programme, the first meeting of which was held on Thursday.

States have been gradually opening up for tourists as the number of daily coronavirus cases has been on the decline. Visuals of crowds at tourist places have emerged on social media.

Pictures of tourists without a face mask crowding public places in Manali and video clips of hundreds of tourists, most of whom were also with masks, at the famous Kempty falls in Mussoorie on Thursday have been doing the rounds. Following this, the Uttarakhand government came up with a fresh order restricting access to 50 tourists at a time, who cannot stay beyond half an hour.


Also Read: Sikkim opens to fully vaccinated tourists from today

The Union health ministry issued warnings against “revenge travel” and warned that not conforming to appropriate Covid-19 protocol will “nullify all the gains made so far”.

Sikkim reported 222 cases of Covid-19 on Thursday and one fatality, according to the state health department.