Jaisalmer : Rajasthan had reported on ground zero about the fraud being done to the tourists in Sam Sand Dunes Camp of Jaisalmer, on which now a big action has been taken. Through this report, we had told the public that only about 150 resorts are present on the ground in Some Sand Dunes, but their number has reached close to 400 on online booking sites. Fake online booking accounts have been created using photos of about 220 to 250 camps and resorts, due to which tourists are becoming victims of fraud. Now the Department of Tourism has taken major action on this exclusive ground report of Rajasthan.
‘Now physical verification of resorts is necessary’
Krishna Kumar Punia, Assistant Director, Tourism Department, said, ‘As soon as we came to know about the fake campuses and resorts created on online booking sites, we took it seriously and made a physical verification certificate mandatory for each tourism unit. Now, we have written a letter to all the online booking platforms asking them to ask for physical verification certificate while registering any unit. This certificate will be issued by the Tourism Department. It will be mandatory for every resort to get physical verification of their resort done by filling the form. Those units which are already registered will also have to complete this process. A date line of one month has also been fixed for this. Except those resorts and camps whose verification process will be completed by this date, all others will be removed from the online internet booking platform.
‘Now the District Collector is also looking serious’
Kailash Vyas, President of the Welfare Society associated with the tourism business, while expressing his gratitude to Rajasthan for taking cognizance of the Tourism Department on this issue, said that first of all I thank NDTV, who raised this important issue and made it possible for the common tourists, the public, the Tourism Department and Attracted the attention of the administration. In this matter, we have received an update that the Tourism Department is writing letters to all the online portals at its level. So that the fake campus can be removed as soon as possible. Now the District Collector himself seems serious regarding this matter. We hope that the fake campuses registered online will be removed soon. We are also getting input from online sites that they will issue guidelines to stop such frauds, under which properties will be listed only after physical verification. We appeal to the administration that the tourist season is near. If this work is completed as soon as possible then tourists will get relief.
Annual turnover of Rs 200 to 250 crores
From 15 October to 15 March, crowds of tourists gather in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. This is called the peak season of Jaisalmer. Especially this time Diwali is in the beginning of November, due to which a large number of tourists are expected to come to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer gets a business of Rs 200-250 crore from tourism, for which now all the resorts, hotels, restaurants etc. have finalized the preparations. After raising the issue, the Tourism Department has come into action, which has given hope of relief to the people associated with the tourism business.
Total 150 resorts, 400 listed online
Around 150 resorts have been built on the ground near Jaisalmer, some of which are luxury, some medium and some are absolutely budget tents. But when you go to any side for online booking, you will see a total of more than 400 tents listed. Now you must have understood that around 250 tents are listed only for cheating. For this reason, there is a possibility of tourists becoming victims of fraud to a great extent. These online frauds are done so clearly that the tourist cannot even understand. To expose this method of cheating, Rajasthan correspondent Shrikant Vyas went to Ground Zero in the last week of September and recorded every little thing on his camera. First of all he booked a resort online. But before making advance payment, call the number given on the website. But no one picked up the phone. After this, Srikanth reached Sam city with his cameraman, where he talked to the people associated with the tourism business, in which he gave information about many such cases. But now the news has had a big impact and the Tourism Department has taken cognizance of this matter.
