The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on India’s tourism sector is estimated at an overall loss of INR 5 lakh crore and job cuts for 4-5 crore people. Branded hotels, tour operators and travel agencies will be the worst hit. These organized sectors will lose around INR 1.58 lakh crore, according to estimates by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Organised sector in the industry to face maximum losses
Branded hotel groups may lose as much as INR 1.10 lakh crore, online travel agencies INR 4,312 crore, tour operators (inbound and domestic) INR 25,000 crore, adventure tour operators INR nearly 19,000 crores and cruise tourism INR 419 crore. The Union Ministry of Tourism has spoken about the government considering helping the sector with soft loans, working capital and deferment on loan repayments.
Aside from the major losses in the organized sector, smaller players in the industry will also be severely impacted. This includes small homestays, bed and breakfasts and small hotel operators. Aashish Gupta, CEO, FAITH recommended a salary corpus for the sector from the government.
“The industry is facing an existential crisis today,” CII National Chairman Tourism Committee, Dipak Haksar said. He added that overall “we estimate around 4-5 crore job losses of people who are directly or indirectly related to the tourism sector. Occupancies in hotels have come to single-digit and recoveries not expected in the near future. The industry expects to lose over 2 crore jobs and revenue loss could be of 60-70% this year. The tourism industry is gasping for oxygen and we urge the government to pronounce immediate sectoral relief for the industry.”
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