Hotels and restaurants seek relaxation

In the event of a Lockdown 4.0, the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) appealed to the Government for relaxation for the hospitality sector at least in the Green and Orange Zones.

To mitigate hardships faced by the sector, the apex hospitality association has proposed that hotels and restaurants in the Green zones be allowed to operate to 100 per cent and in the Orange zones to 50 per cent capacities.

Also since the lockdown has been eased out in several regions, the FHRAI anticipates the need for accommodation and food for those serving during this period. The Indian hospitality sector is one of the worst hit by the lockdown and is looking for any reasonable means to keep the industry alive.

"Even today, containing the spread of the virus remains the country’s first priority. But we also have to take into account that the hospitality and tourism industry employs roughly over 43 million people. These people are relying on hotels and restaurants resuming operations for their survival. Every lockdown extension is making it more and more difficult for establishments to keep people employed as well as to sustain. Since the Government is relaxing operations for several industries to keep the wheels of economy moving, we are hoping that it allows our industry some relaxation too,” says Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI.

The Hospitality and Tourism sector accounts for 12.75 per cent of employment, 5.56 per cent of it are direct and 7.19 per cent indirect. The Indian Hospitality and Tourism industry is staring at a potential job loss of around 38 million, which is 70 per cent of the total workforce, due to COVID-19.

“According to the WTTC, as many as 75 million travel and tourism jobs are at risk worldwide, one in eight of them in India. We are surprised and also concerned that a sector which contributes nearly 10 per cent to the country's GDP and which provides employment to millions is not being spoken about. Till date neither any minister nor any department has made any comments on what plans they have for our industry. We want to know if the Government has any plan at all with any kind of stimulus for the industry or not. We pray that the Hon FM keeps the hospitality sector in mind in the next tranche of economic measures to be announced. We look forward to resuming operations and adhering to all the safety measures and follow the compliances strictly. We stand united with the Government for eradicating the virus and together we will show the way to the world in achieving this,” added Kohli.