TN hoteliers stare at grim future as curfews choke biz, tourist footfall

CHENNAI: With nearly 50 per cent of the business gone since the outbreak of coronavirus and the lockdown last year, the night curfew and ban on tourists visiting hill stations will further wipe out the restaurant business, said hoteliers in Tamil Nadu.

They also said the migrant labour going back to their homes is not a major problem as many of them who had left last year have not returned and further business has not improved.

“Normally business in vegetarian hotels pick up from 7.30 pm and in non-vegetarian outlets at 8 pm. The night curfew between 10 pm and 4 am announced by the TN government from April 20 will hit the business hard. Already restaurants are near empty after 7.30 pm,” said R Srinivasan, Secretary, TN Hotels Association. With COVID-19 second wave hitting TN and increasing the number of active patients, the state government recently tightened the restrictions like night curfew, ban on tourists.