JAIPUR: The new positive cases may have come down but people have started venturing out for leisure activities including visits to museums and monuments in the state.
The heat and humid conditions may have caused some reluctance for outdoor activities, but monument authorities said that the arrival of monsoon will draw crowds.
When historic tourist landmarks in the Pink City were reopened on June 16, they attracted 518 visitors but the footfalls increased to 1274 on Wednesday after a week.
Pankaj Dhirendra, superintendent of Amber Fort, said, “Footfalls have been increasing steadily despite June not being a tourist season.
As the monsoon bring in more rains, we expect the number to get a faster pace in coming weeks and months.
Because of the lockdown prohibitions, the monuments and museums are closed by 4 pm which further limits the scope for footfalls rising at a faster pace.
Moreover, lockdown is still in force on Sundays when the monuments receive highest number of visitors on a week day.
Authorities at Hawamahal said most of the visitors are people who are either from the city or nearby areas of Jaipur.
“The number of visitors from other states are miniscule which can be attributed to the restrictions on travel,” he said.
Requirements for travelling into the state like negative RTPCR report and fully vaccinated certificate have reduced the number of visitors to the state.
Also, the tourism industry is not open fully with markets closing at 4pm.
But an official in the state archaeology department said that in the current circumstances, a slow start is better start.
“Nobody wants to see a resurgence in cases again.
There is a talk of the third wave.
But it can be avoided if people remain on guard and do not make public places overcrowded.
Any way this is not a tourist season.
So, if the footfalls don’t increase at a faster clip, it is actually better,” said the official requesting anonymity.
Monuments offer insights into the health of tourism in the state as the tourism department uses these numbers, among others, to calculate tourist arrivals in the state.