Kolkata, Dec 28 (IANS) Tourism in Darjeeling has been hit by the sustained agitation of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) for a Gorkhaland state, West Bengal Tourism Minister Manabendra Mukherjee said Monday.

'The ongoing political turmoil is no doubt affecting tourism in Darjeeling, but Darjeeling is still the queen of hills and it will continue to attract tourists,' Mukherjee said here.

However, he asserted that the number of tourist arrivals in the state was increasing.

The state government was also trying to explore alternative areas to attract tourists.

'We are exploring alternative areas to develop tourism. For example, we are also trying to develop river tourism.

'We did not get much positive response in the first lot of tendering to invite private companies who will take up the project. We will soon float the second lot of tenders for the project,' he said during a conference in connection with the West Bengal Tourism and Food Festival 2010.

The GJM, which is spearheading the agitation for Gorkhaland to be carved out of the entire Darjeeling and parts of Jalpaiguri districts in northern West Bengal, has called for an indefinite shutdown of all government offices in the hills from Monday. However, banks, insurance and post offices have been exempted.

The outfit earlier gave a call to its supporters not to pay taxes and utility bills to the government, causing losses running into crores of rupees to the government exchequer.

The GJM organised indefinite shutdowns twice in the hills last year and once in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls this year, severely hitting tea, timber and tourism - the bread and butter of the region.

The stir seems to have got a fillip after the central government recently announced that it was ready to concede the demand for a Telengana state to be formed out of parts of Andhra Pradesh.