As virus travels, travellers slow down, tourism hit
NEW DELHI: The coronavirus epidemic has hit the tourism and hospitality industry hard in the national capital, with experts and owners of both budget and luxury hotels and travel companies reporting a massive 70% dip in the business.
The Union health ministry on Friday confirmed 81 positive cases of coronavirus in India, of whom 64 are Indians, 16 Italians and one Canadian national.
Globally, the disease has affected 137,385 people with 5,088 dead. India reported the first death due to the disease on Thursday with a 76-year-old, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, dying in Karnataka.
The central government has cancelled all existing visas – except diplomatic, official, international organisations, employment -- till April 15 and has also advised the citizens to avoid travelling unless it is very essential.
“The tourism sector was already bearing the brunt of the economic slowdown and now the coronavirus epidemic has made things worse. Till February, the business was okay but after the virus threat, nearly 70% business has been affected,” said Ajay Kumar Agarwal, president, Delhi Hotel Mahasangh.
According to experts, Delhi gets most of its tourists between October and April. Tourists, mostly foreigners, come to Delhi not only to visit the city but also due to its proximity to tourist hotspots like Agra, Mathura, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Nainital, Dehradun, Ajmer and Jaipur.
Many hotels are now offering huge discounts to attract local tourists and manage the loss.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior management staff at Taurus Sarovar Portico Hotel at Mahipalpur said occupancy at the hotel is down by 70%. “The maximum number of group bookings have been cancelled for the March and April. We do not have a single booking for April, so we have reduced rates by around 40% for current and advance booking in these months,” he said.
At Radisson Blu in Mahipalpur, a staff member said business was low due to cancellation of bookings of tourists and official conferences. “The hotel occupancy has reduced by 50% otherwise it remains full. Rates have been slashed down by around 40%,” the staff member said, requesting anonymity.
In the Aerocity, management staff at Novotel and Aloft hotels admitted that the occupancy has gone down and rates has been slashed by about 30% to 40%.
The travel agencies are also having a tough time as their business too has gone down by about 70% due to coronavirus scare. “Over 70% of the major bookings have been cancelled due to coronavirus. The industry is suffering because not only the foreign tourists but local visitors have also postponed their plans. It will take a few months for the industry to revive and we can now pin hopes on the next tourist season starting in October,” said Vishesh Pradhan of Vaishnav Tours and Travels.
Shambhu Dhayal of SK Travels said, “We do brisk business between January and March. But this year, the season has not gone well. Over 75% bookings have been cancelled,” Dayal said.
The government, however, has not yet assessed the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the tourism industry but the authorities admitted that it will have “a significant” effect on the industry.
Meenakshi Sharma, director general (tourism) at the Union ministry of tourism, said it was too early to assess the overall impact on the sector.
“We are collating data. Last year, 11 million foreign tourists visited India. The coronavirus has certainly affected the industry as visas of all foreign tourists have been cancelled till April 15 but our primary concern is the safety of the travellers and local industry operators,” she said.