Another One Bites The Dust

Once again, like a ritual being followed over the last almost 40 years that I can recall, the government snubbed the tourism industry which continues to blindly keep faith in its perpetually one sided relationship. Never has it hurt the sector more than this time and will this now be the flash point or will we all go back to business as usual from tomorrow morning? Only time will tell. There’s something about the snub this time that just displays an apathy to the tourism sector that is so stark, that the soul of the industry has been shaken and stirred. (pun intended). There is a profound sense of mockery after all the representations made and the assurances provided by various government functionaries.

Even if you were blindfolded or actually blind, the despair in our sector is visible in very vivid images. Over five crore of our industry colleagues through direct and indirect employment are going to be impacted by the loss of business for airlines, hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, transport providers, restaurants and all the various allied establishments and vendors that cater to these businesses. The revenue loss across the value chain, as per estimates made by CII, a figure that changes with every week of the shut down, at a conservative estimate exceeds a staggering INR five lakh crores or 70 billion USD with the organised sector alone standing to lose over 20 billion USD. And while the sector was holding back retrenchment in the hope that like all major governments across the globe, our government would also offer a lifeline, this sadly is unlikely to continue. An estimated two crore jobs are at risk as the government in its wisdom, thought it better to announce stimulus for space exploration rather than tourism or aviation. Quite likely then that we could be seeing space crafts ferrying people from one airport to another while aircrafts remain grounded. Accommodation for travellers would be at the newly converted stadiums, schools, colleges, railway bogies as hotels, lodges and guest houses may now fail to re-open.

In a country of our size and diversity, seeped in history, culture, mythology and magnificent natural bounty, we receive just about one per cent of the global tourists. Shameful as that is, our leaders refuse to see the sector as anything but a sin industry and a playground for the rich and the famous. Despite years and years of dialogues, presentations, data compilation which demonstrates that the upscale and luxury segment of hotels, although an integral part of the distribution, contribute less than two per cent of the total inventory of around 3.6 million rooms in the country across Organised, Semi Organised and Unorganised hotel accommodation, the sector continues to suffer from the perception of an elitist industry that requires little or no support. The fact that Travel and Tourism is a significant part of the country’s infrastructure contributing over nine per cent to the GDP and over eight per cent of the employment is am impressive but lonely data only for statistics but never for any consideration at the time reforms, annual budget allocations or fiscal aid packages are being rolled out.

In the next few days, we will see a plethora of analysis on the 20 lakh crore relief package announced by the government but based on what has surfaced so far, I can safely hazard a guess that there is going to be a mega mismatch between perception of the 10 per cent of GDP aid being provided and reality. While it is well established that the Travel and Tourism sector is amongst the most severely impacted by the Covid impact, a fund allocation across all sectors to protect salary and wages for the lower income group with no other relief would in itself have brought much needed cheer to both the individuals and their employing establishments.

During the pandemic, hotels and restaurants have actively and selflessly provided meals and support to the marginalised. Despite the severe risk, hotels have most willingly offered their infrastructure for quarantine facilities and for accommodation to doctors and medical workers. The sector has displayed its utmost sense of responsibility and been most forthcoming with its support during these very trying times for the nation. And this is neither the first nor the last time the sector has or will deliver beyond expectations. That is a service trait deeply engrained in our DNA.

It really is time that our political masters stopped taking our resilience and entrepreneurial abilities as a given without the due acknowledgment and support that we have patiently been waiting and hoping for. It is only to the country’s peril if the Travel and Tourism sector is not allowed to reach its potential, not for lack of any ability from its various participants but because of the myopic vision of the government that has consistently dwarfed the status of this industry.