Port Blair, Oct. 26: The Member of Parliament of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Chief Secretary of A&N Administration to re-open Jolly Bouy Island and also to open new Islands for promotion of Tourism in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, the Member of Parliament today pointed out that as the threat of COVID-19 infection is now minimum all over India, a large number of tourists have started coming to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

He mentioned that the tour operators, who have suffered heavy loss in the last nearly 18 to 20 months due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, can now see some ray of hope for a revival of tourism in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The Member of Parliament added that many tour operators have approached MP Office and demanded the re-opening of Jolly Bouy Islands, which has been kept closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Sharma said that tourists visiting Andaman & Nicobar Islands have already been witnessing a lot of restrictions in movement due to the threat of crocodiles and other restrictions and if famous tourists spots like Jolly Bouy are kept closed, it will certainly leave a negative impact on Tourism and send a wrong message about Andaman to rest of the world. Moreover, stakeholders of Andaman Tourism are demanding for the opening of some more tourist spots for Tourists so that they get more options and Andaman gets repeat tourists in the coming days. There is a growing demand to open Islands like Rutland Island and Cinque Island for tourism, Sharma said.

The Member of Parliament further mentioned in his letter that he is hopeful that if the Administration re-opens Jolly Bouy and also opens Islands like Rutland Island as well as Cinque Island for tourism, the Tourism Industry also will be able to bounce back soon from the present situation.