The travel and tourism sector in the city has taken a crippling blow due to the onset of COVID-19 disease. It is reeling under mass cancellation of tickets and tours, forcing the operators to resort to drastic measures to minimise loss.
Tourism is the mainstay of the economy of Mysuru and generates nearly 80,000 direct jobs. The city receives nearly 3.5 million tourists annually and the turnover is reckoned to be around ₹2,000 crore.
While the hospitality sector comprising hotels and restaurants is reeling under massive decline in the number of in-bound tourists, travel agencies and tour operators are facing the heat of mass cancellations of tours by the outbound travellers from the city.
With the State government ordering a closure of hotels, restaurants and pubs for a week as a measure to counter the spread of the virus, many hotels and restaurants have given holidays to their staff. Mysuru has 200 vegetarian restaurants, 130 non-vegetarian restaurants, and 75 bars and restaurants all of which will have to comply with the government directives.
Similar measures are being adopted by travel agencies in the city who have advised their staff to take a pay cut and work for 15 days in a month till the situation eases and normality is restored.
The Mysuru Travel Agents’ Association has urged the State government to waive the quarterly tax and provide 3 months’ grace period in repayment of bank EMIs on loan taken to purchase commercial tourist vehicles.
B. Prashanth, president of the Association, said there is a drastic fall in travel and related business, including large-scale cancellation of confirmed bookings. Besides, there are restrictions placed by the government to combat the spread of the virus which includes a ban on in-bound foreign tourists.
He said it is becoming difficult to run the business in the present situation as the industry is completely dependent on income from travel and tourism. As a result even payment of EMI was becoming difficult and hence they were seeking the waiver.
According to sources in a leading IT company in the city, all outbound international travels have been banned. The campus tour for visitors has also been cancelled since the last few weeks and the multiplex has been shut as a temporary measure to avoid gathering of people in any enclosure.
Mysuru Hotel Owners Association president C. Narayana Gowda said Mysuru has nearly 400 hotels with around 9,500 rooms and the cascading impact of the fall in tourists will affect their livelihood.
A few stakeholders in the sector said though owners will make efforts to pay them regular wages despite the severity of the virus-induced downturn, the economics of running the business may force them to resort to more drastic measures if the situation did not ease within the next one month.
