Foresight is the key to survival
Tanuja Pandey, Founder & Director, MICE Online, says that it is crucial for travel and tourism associations in India to have a disaster management plan in place that can help shield members’ business and their employees from adversities such as COVID-19.
Tourism and hospitality are fragile industries. Any disaster, natural or manmade, effects tourism immediately. While in other developed and developing countries tourism is given preference and a primary industry status, unfortunately, in India, it is neglected and oft times taken for granted.
Severity of the impact that today’s situation has had on the tourism industry cannot be taken lightly. While 2019 alone witnessed some big industry collapses such as Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings, a number of smaller entities have also fallen apart in the last one year or so. The government, too, has made things more difficult lately through higher taxation, new taxation, zero commission from airlines and zero commitment to the industry, incomplete/non-existent policies, etc. However, I feel that we cannot keep blaming the government all the time. We, too, have to be responsible. In times of crisis, there is no insurance or safety net provided to trade partners by private players or by the government, and this is the service industry that generates crores of revenue in taxes and contributes huge numbers to the national income.
Any pleas for help to the custodians/guardians of our trade get recorded after time-consuming follow-ups; their implementation is another story altogether. I have not yet seen an association that proactively thinks and prepares for unforeseen events. I am sure they have been formed as representatives of the trade, but they have no disaster planning committee.
A shock like the COVID-19 is a learning in disguise and it is time to act on opportunities. It is also time for the government to do something concrete. Big business houses are crippling our banks and the economy with unpaid loans and fleeing, but the resilient lot of our travel fraternity - we stay put and keep our businesses afloat and pay exorbitant taxes.
We also need to look out for our own. To reduce staff or not pay salaries is not the only solution, but sadly, many in the travel industry have begun doing just that. If we had an insurance plan or a plan-B for disasters like this, we would have been able to take care of such unforeseen and unfortunate situations.
Trade associations should have had the foresight to keep or start such a fund that could have helped in disasters. We refuse to learn from our mistakes, but I still hope we all wake up today and plan tomorrow.
That said, we are hoping the government bails us out. It could offer an exemption or a refund on taxes for FY 201920 for those who have paid advance tax and a tax holiday for FY 2020-21. We do not see business for us in Q4 of 201920 and Q1-Q2 of 2020-21. We do foresee job cuts and loan repayments on the anvil. Do associations have a fund for this? How can we ensure that each employee can keep their house running? We are our own morale boosters, but today we need someone to boost our morale. I urge the younger lot to also come forward with ideas and a plan. We are all hoping for a better situation and that the government see our plight.
(The views expressed are the author’s own. The publication may or may not subscribe to the same.)