Tourism sector uncertain about future in absence of govt relief
taken the biggest brunt of this pandemic and a lot of us will not survive,” said Ajay Bakaya, managing director, Sarovar Hotels.
The industry had urged the Centre for a 6-12 month waiver on loans, both on principal and interest. It has also approached state governments to consider electricity charges on consumption basis, waiver of municipal taxes, and deferment of licence fees, including for alcohol. “Some states such as Gujarat and Kerala along with few others have given exemptions. We will all huddle and keep pushing for more measures,“Bakaya said.
The hospitality industry urgently needs the government to facilitate a one-time restructuring of loans by banks without having to take a provisioning hit, besides soft loans for working capital, said Sanjay Sethi, managing director and chief executive , Chalet Hotels.
“We now look to states for relief on benefits as an industry for electricity tariff, excise fee waiver, property tax reduction, and ease on labour laws.”
The absence of immediate funds will lead to job losses, bankruptcies, and destruction of the tourism model in India, said Vijay Dewan, managing director, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels Ltd, and chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s West Bengal State Council.
Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), which represents more than 1,600 operators for inbound tourists, had sought financial support, refund of advance payments made to airlines for tickets, refund of advance payments made for luxury trains and wildlife safaris and all funds stuck with the airlines.
It has also urged the governments to abolish the goods and services tax and reduce GST and the visa fee to make India an attractive destination when normalcy returns.
IATO estimated that 38 million jobs associated with tourism are at stake and the economy can lose revenue of about ₹5 trillion in the next year.
Automakers in India face an uncertain road to recovery with industry executives saying that the government’s stimulus measures are unlikely to revive demand at a time when the lockdown imposed after the coronavirus outbreak has crimped sales of big-ticket items such as passenger vehicles.
Auto component makers said they are unlikely to gain much despite the avowed policy support to MSMES as most of the money will be routed through banks. Most firms are unlikely to seek loans for expenses such as employee salaries and to invest in new capacities in the current environment when they are struggling to utilize their existing capacities because of a lack of demand. In the absence of a direct cash transfer, high fixed costs are also weighing on industry players, they said.
“There is no demand stimulus. We will have to wait and see how the economy grows. Demand will be the biggest issue,” said Vikram Kirloslar, vice-chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
Automakers have been urging the Centre to come up with measures such as direct cash transfers, reduction in GST and incentive-based scrappage policy.
airlines seeking a comprehensive bailout package said the Centre’s stimulus moves will give little relief considering the fleets are grounded and daily losses are mounting due to the lockdown. “We needed government support to survive the lockdown and further support to revive the sector after the lockdown is lifted,” said a New Delhibased senior airline official, who requested anonymity. “Right now we have received neither.”
The clampdown on Indian aviation began in mid-february with a ban on flights to and from coronavirus-hit countries. Thereafter, India suspended all domestic and international commercial flights on 25 March when the lockdown was imposed.
Since then, the lockdown has been extended thrice, forcing airlines to cancel bookings till at least 31 May.
As part of measures to revive the stalled economy, the government announced plans to privatize more airports, free up more airspace for civilian flights and cut taxes to make India an attractive centre for maintenance and repair of aircraft. But, this has left airlines unimpressed.
“The three sops doled out do