13/05/2020
The coronavirus pandemic would have a debilitating impact on India's tourism sector with the industry estimating an overall loss of Rs 5 lakh crore and job cuts for 4-5 crore people.
Of the total losses, the organised sector in the industry -- branded hotels, tour operators, travel agencies which are the mainstay of the sector - may be hit the hardest with an estimated loss of around Rs 1.58 lakh crore, according to Confederation of Indian Industry estimates.
Branded hotel groups are set to lose as much as Rs 1.10 lakh crore, online travel agencies Rs 4,312 crore, tour operators (inbound and domestic) Rs 25,000 crore, adventure tour operators Rs nearly 19,000 crore and cruise tourism Rs 419 crore.
There is no one coming from outside. Our key source markets are heavily impacted due to coronavirus. We don't anticipate the market to come back to India in the next 12-18 months. The industry is facing an existential crisis today. 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.
We hope it [the virus outbreak] will be over soon. We who work in the [tourism] industry have suffered losses [due to the outbreak].
