Tourist Disappointment: Sudden cancellation of Cellular Jail’s Light and Sound Show Leaves visitors Frustrated

Vikramaditya
Port Blair, Feb 01: In an effort to promote Andaman tourism at the national and international levels, prominent figures in India, including the President of India, Prime Minister of India, and even Chief Secretary of A & N Administration, have been actively involved. However, in Andaman some actions of the Tourism Department are leaving tourists deeply upset.
As per reports, today when a large number of tourists arrived at Cellular Jail, they were shocked to find a notice outside, indicating the cancellation of the light and sound show. The Notice read “Sound and Light show cancelled due to technical reason till further notice. Refund Process by Email: onlinebookingissues@gmail.com.”
According to the tourists, there was no official from the tourism department to provide explanations or guide them through the cancellation process or refund procedures. Although it was mentioned in the cancellation notice that refunds would be processed via email, this did not satisfy most of the tourists.
Frustrated and seeking refunds, many tourists approached their respective tour operators. However, tour operators claimed to be unable to facilitate refunds, citing that, in the past three months, the tourism department had not provided refunds in similar cases. This resulted in confusion and anger among the visiting tourists, especially those who were eager to witness the light and sound show on their last day in Port Blair.
The sudden decision by the tourism department to close the light and sound show left tourists deeply upset, especially considering the significant amounts of money they had spent to reach Andaman. Tourists are now blaming tour operators, while tour operators themselves are confused and clueless about the incident.
Speaking to Andaman Sheekha, a tour operator expressed that guests are holding them responsible for the last-minute cancellation of the light and sound show and are demanding refunds, which they are unable to provide due to the unclear refund policy of the tourism department.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha Tour operators alleged that this is not the first time such an incident has occurred in the last three months, where the light and sound show was abruptly cancelled without providing refunds. Tourism, being one of the largest industries in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has the potential to employ thousands, but such unprofessional actions by the tourism department not only disappoint tourists but also tarnish the reputation of the entire tourism sector.
Tourists outside the jail expressed their concern to Andaman Sheekha, hoping that such last-minute cancellations would be avoided in the future. They emphasized that tourists coming to Andaman and spending significant amounts of money should not have to experience such disappointments. Officials of the Tourism Department were unavailable at Cellular Jail for a comment in this regard.