NEW DELHI: The visitors coming to Dilli Haats will soon be able to purchase entry tickets online in advance as Delhi Tourism has started exploring possibilities to create a platform for an e-ticketing facility. Senior officials of the department said that online ticketing facilities would not only help to maintain coronavirus protocols but minimise inconvenience to the people who have to stand in long queues, especially on weekends.
“In the post-pandemic era, the focus of all government and private entities is on digital transactions. Considering the changed scenario, it was thought that Delhi Tourism should also bring an e-ticket system for Dilli Haats and other sites as we have done at The Garden of Five Senses for Garden Tourism Festival,” said a tourism department official.
Among three facilities, the Dilli Haat at INA receives the highest footfall daily. In pre-Covid times, it would see 3,000 guests on a given day in the summer. The number crossed the 6,000-mark on a weekend or a holiday. In winters, it was more than 7,000 daily. Dilli Haat at Pitampura would get about 250 visitors every day in the summer and the footfall went up to 300 on weekends.
In winter, the number rose to 400. On Saturdays and Sundays, it was around 500 visitors. About 500 visitors would come to Janakpuri Dilli Haat daily. The footfall would increase to 700 on weekends. In winters, the daily footfall was 1,000 and doubled on weekends. The three Dilli Haats and other Delhi Tourism sites such as Nature Bazaar,
The Garden of Five Senses, Azad Hind Gram and GTB Memorial, which were shut in March due to the Covid-19 outbreak, were reopened in July. According to the officials, the footfall at Dilli Haats is gradually returning to normal. “Footfall has increased to 70-80 per cent if you compare the numbers with the pre- Covid days. We are making efforts and planning events to attract more people,” said another official