Vaccination key to boost tourism and hospitality sector, say stakeholders
As the country opens up, many are planning vacations to bite into that slice of wanderlust. And to revive the severely impacted industry, those associated with the travel and hospitality sector feel that boosting vaccination drive is the way forward.
Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas recently announced making some travel destinations 100% Covidvaccinated spots by prioritising vaccination for those working in the industry. To “send out a message that Kashmir is safe for tourists”, Jammu & Kashmir Secretary (Tourism) Sarmad Hafeez also fast-tracked inoculation for travel and tourism stakeholders.
Prioritising immunisation of front-desk professionals, displaying the status of vaccinated staff on a public forum and arranging a jab for resort workers in remote areas — industry insiders believe such measures will help regain the confidence of travellers. “We believe a slow unlock will bring back domestic travellers, who’ll be looking for secluded accommodations and safe ways to travel. Vaccine access will help bring back the economic growth that tourism enables,” says Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, general manager Airbnb India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
As far as budget hotels are concerned, OYO Rooms have taken the initiative to display the vaccine status of staff and partner hotels on their portal.
Rohit Kapoor, CEO, OYO India and South-East Asia, says, “This will promote the larger cause of vaccination among our customer base, hotel partners and their staff.”
Vista Rooms, which provide luxury villa and homestays also plan to follow suit. Ankita Sheth, the co-founder, says, “We will be updating which staff is vaccinated once the vaccines are available in the remote localities where our properties are located.”
After being vaccinated, people will look to travel for a break, believes Vikram Lalvani, chief of revenue, sales and destinations, Sterling Holiday Resorts, who are tying up with local administrations to assist in inoculating frontline staff in various remote districts.
While travel to hill stations has been majorly hit this summer, professional trek and tour guide, Deepjyoti Biswas from Kasol, Himachal Pradesh, shares, “We are eager to open up, but doing so without being immunised is a risk to our lives and our families. We have to meet travellers, so we want to get vaccinated, but tourists, too, should only travel once they’re vaccinated.”
At a recent event, Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad
Rebooting globally Thailand, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt have ramped up the vaccination drive for tourism industry workers. Phuket is ready to welcome fully vaccinated travellers from July 1. Malaysian and Sri Lankan associations are urging the government to fast-track vaccination for the sector.
Patel, also mentioned, “Vaccination is going to drive the tourism sector’s revival and we are working on a uniform policy and setting up protocols for travellers getting vaccinated against Covid-19.”
Furthermore, travel writer Shivya Nath says, “[Travel industry employees] don’t have the luxury to work from home. Often, hotels are closed premises where staff is vulnerable. In parts of Europe, the US and the UK, a major chunk of the population is vaccinated and people are resuming normal life. As soon as vaccination happens, we’ll be able to resume travel again.”