Tourist sites without websites of their own deprive visitors of correct information

A majority of tourist sites in the holy city do not have websites of their own and social media accounts, causing planning paralysis for visitors coming from far off places.

A large number of tourists arrive here after planning their itinerary based on online information.

Considered as one of the most visited places on earth, the Golden Temple does not have its own website. Though information about it is amply available on the website of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), most tourists coming from different parts of the world do not know about the SGPC and prefer to search about the holiest Sikh shrine through key words like ‘Golden Temple’.

Details about the summer palace of the legendary Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh which houses a museum can be accessed through a website being run by the district administration. A panorama on him, situated in the Ram Bagh, known as Company Garden, can be accessed through a website of the civic body.

Gurinder Singh Johal, Chairman, Punjab Chapter of Indian Association of Tour Operators, said most tourist attractions in Amritsar, including Gobindgarh Fort, War Museum, Valmiki temple in the Ramtirath area, Durgiana temple and others do not have websites of their own.

On the other hand, the Punjab Tourism website is not updated, said Johal, causing great inconvenience to those who search for tourist attractions in Amritsar through websites. They get links of privately run websites. Visitors are dejected to find that there is no information about the retreat ceremony timings which keeps changing with weather conditions. Since the BSF is a border guarding force, it cannot be expected to disseminate such information. The Punjab Tourism Department should provide all information pertaining to the retreat ceremony, Johal said.

Rameshinder Singh Sandhu, a freelance travel writer, said other than websites, more professional staff are also needed to help visitors. Most of the time, they don’t have the information or they take a long time to get back. A website, on the other hand, is the most essential and basic need. Without it, many online portals can offer wrong information. The Punjab Tourism Board should ensure that websites are there for all tourist attractions in the holy city, he said.

Amritsar