Covid-19 Relief: Need Cash Support, Not Loans, Say Hotels, Tour Operators

Tour operators to hotels are disappointed by the government’s measures for the tourism industry, one of the worst-hit sectors during the pandemic.

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Hotels Unimpressed

Hotel operators, too, said the measures won’t make a difference.

“The relief measures announced today for the tourism sector are insufficient, the actual benefits are very unlikely to percolate to the people who have lost their jobs,” said Kapil Chopra, founder and chief executive officer of Postcard Hotels and Resorts.

“Nothing has been said about hotel and restaurant employees who have lost their jobs," Chopra, who’s also chairman on the board of the restaurant search platform EazyDiner, told BloombergQuint. "Instead of announcing loans, they should have come up with direct cash transfer for the employees of the hotels and restaurants who have paid their PF and have been laid off like in a lot of countries globally."

Chopra said the relief measures could have been tweaked to widen its reach. “The waiver of visa fees isn’t going to move the needle as India is a long-haul destination and it won’t do much for the revival of the sector,” he said. “Instead, Rs 100 crore could have been diverted for giving some compensation to the employees of this sector who have lost their jobs.”

Marriott Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corp. declined to comment.