Safety measures mandatory for hotels, restaurants: CM

Hospitality services, including restaurants will resume operations across Karnataka on
June 8.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said Saturday that restaurants and hotels will be allowed, but compliance with the prescribed precautionary measures was mandatory.

The hotel owners association and representatives of transport companies promised the chief minister that that they would strictly follow the government’s guidelines, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.

According to guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, hotels are to ensure hand sanitisers and thermal screening at the entrance, only asymptomatic staff and guests, face masks at all times, social distancing, recording guests details (travel history, medical condition etc) along with ID and self-declaration form, digital payments and so on. With the Tourism department all set to open its hotels, hospitality wings and tourist spots, Yediyurappa released a booklet on the guidelines to be followed.

Yediyurappa also held a meeting with tourism and transport officials along with stakeholders to discuss the way forward. The associations of hotels, bus and taxi owners placed their demands, which Yediyurappa said will be examined.

“Among the southern states, the entry tax (for tourists) in Karnataka is the highest. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Telangana have an agreement. It was discussed that Karnataka should have a similar agreement, including Goa and Maharashtra, which will help free movement of tourists,” Tourism Minister CT Ravi told reporters, adding that Yediyurappa directed officials to reach out to the neighbouring states.

Travel agents in Kerala and Tamil Nadu exclude Karnataka from their itinerary since the state’s entry tax is high,, Ravi said. “So, those coming to Ooty end up avoiding Mysuru.”

Vehicle tax will be halved for the month of June, Ravi said, referring to a demand made by the tourist taxi owners’ associations. “It was waived for April and May. In June, only 50% of the vehicle tax will be collected,” Ravi said. “We wanted to waive it in full, but we can’t do that considering the economic difficulty for the government if revenues don’t flow in,” he said.