travelUpdated: Dec 27, 2020, 19:40 ISTThe picturesque Himalayan state of Sikkim, with a population of under seven lakh, reeled under a serious crisis in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic crippled its tourism industry, the mainstay of its economy. The tourism sector suffered losses to the tune of Rs 600 crore this year due to the pandemic, Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) chairman Lukendra Rasaily said. Sikkim was untouched by the pandemic for a long time before coronavirus struck the border state in the last week of May when a student, who returned from Delhi, tested positive. Two months later, the state reported its first COVID- 19 fatality when a 74-year-old man from East Sikkim district succumbed to the disease. “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a debilitating impact on the tourism industry, which is the backbone of the state’s economy,” Raaily told PTI.

Source: Hindustan Times December 27, 2020 14:12 UTC