On Tuesday morning tour operators were juggling dates as they struggled to find rooms in Jaipur in what has traditionally been the lean season.
On Wednesday, they were doing it again -- but this time because foreign tourists were fleeing from the Pink City, as advisories exercising caution were put out by tour operators. "The impact," said one of them, "is likely to be in the winter season because groups may cancel their forward bookings."
The terrorists have chosen their target well. Jaipur's economy is largely dependent on tourism and handicrafts, and the walled city precincts, where the serial blasts occurred, are at the heart of both.
It is from here that the city's wholesale and retail trade operates for block-printed and tie-and-dye textiles, and for its humungous coloured gemstones and jewellery business, estimated at Rs 2,000 crore annually.
Over 300,000 artisans are associated with the cutting, polishing, and setting of gemstones, silver, and gold. Rajiv Arora, president, Federation of Rajasthan Exporters, said the industry could suffer a loss of Rs 100 crore from exports alone in the short term, since major exporters are preparing for shows in Las Vegas, Vicenza, and New York scheduled for end-June and July.
"Any delays could result in cancellations," said Arora, adding, the US recession and the slowing of the Indian economy have had a bearing on the business. Today's curfew will cause a loss of up to Rs 10 crore, said exporter Ajay Kala.
Jaipur's 1.2 million foreign and 23.5 million domestic tourists could shrink too with the state's image of peace strafed. "Tourists will have to be reassured they are safe here, otherwise we might see a decline in arrivals," said inbound tour operator Sanjay Rawat.
Meanwhile, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi ruled out any shift from Jaipur for the Saturday clash between the Rajasthan Royals and the Bangalore Royal Challengers.
While the city grappled to return to normalcy, in New Delhi's Bikaner House, which is the hub for tourist buses plying between the Capital and Jaipur, Sher Singh, duty officer, said on average there is a two-thirds loss in the number of passengers and revenues, leading to the cancellation of at least two bus departures.
Even as the city's businessmen grapple with the loss of business, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has said that a Bill on organised crime passed by the Rajasthan assembly in 2006 should receive the President's speedy consent.
