AHMEDABAD: The lengthening of the night curfew is set to reduce business for hotels and restaurants by 20%, according to estimates by the Hotels and Restaurants’ Association (HRA), Gujarat.
With the curfew imposed at 11pm, restaurateurs say they will be forced to shut early and this will hurt their business, especially at a time people tend to venture out late in the night.
Narendra Somani, president, HRA, Gujarat, said, “New Year and Christmas is the time of the year when people like venturing out late at night to enjoy the weather and spend time with friends and family. However, with the new restrictions, people will be forced to shut shop by 10pm because their staff will have to leave. This will bring down the number of customers and hurt business.”
“Rumour mongering has already caused a decline in footfalls at restaurants,” he added.
Lack of clarity on delivery timings has also hurt food businesses over the past few days. “There is no clarity on whether food delivery is allowed till midnight. This will reduce footfalls in the evenings, which account for the maximum business. At a time when people venture out in the evenings, we will truly lose our season’s business,” said Dilip Thakkar, an Ahmedabad-based restaurateur.
