Bhubaneswar: Two tourists from Italy, Vincenzo Garoia and Silvana Landolfi have been duped by a fraudulent site – ‘myguesthouse.com’. The duo was shown a luxurious room with all modern amenities, but on reaching here they were taken to a shanty house at Sishupalgarh.
Tourism director Nitin B Jawale termed the incident unfortunate.
“When they wanted to meet the service providers, the latter were not to be seen anywhere. Disgusted with all the arrangements, Garoia and Landolfi left the house in the morning without food and water,” Jawale said. The tourists were directed to Tourism department office where the authorities helped them with accommodation and facilitated their remaining journey in the city. “They arrived in the city Tuesday, but after their bitter experience they came to our office. We immediately made arrangements for their accommodation at Panthanivas free of cost. We are trying our best so that they won’t have to leave the place with a bad impression,” said Jawale.
The Italian tourists are on an all-India tour and have visited many cities in the country. They have a flight Thursday morning and the department has made arrangements to drop them at the airport, he added. Stating that it is a serious issue Jawale said, “It is very important for us to know whether the organisation has made registration before operating as a tourist facilitator and whether they have communicated about the arrival of foreign tourists to the nearest police station.”
Jawale said, “We have already started an inquiry and are talking with concerned agency. Authorised tourist officer from Bhubaneswar will look into this matter.”
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