The city, which is a tourist destination for all seasons, is feeling the heat of the restrictions and precautionary measures that are being rolled out to manage the COVID-19 outbreak.
Though February and March tend to be low-seasons given the examination season, the occupancy rates in hotels were never this low, according to stakeholders. “Even during the worst season, the occupancy rates would hover around 30% to 40%. But it has slipped to around 10%,” according to Narayanagowda of Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association.
Double whammy
But what has come as a double whammy for restaurant and hotel owners is the depleting patronage by locals who used to eat out during weekends or regularly. “Since the last couple of weeks there has been a steady decline in the number of local people who eat out,” said Mr. Gowda.
Consequently, many restaurants have given holidays to their employees as they are finding it difficult to pay salaries and wages. The minimum wage is ₹12,000 per month for a cook but most draw higher as owners want to retain their services. But with declining income, the hotel industry is bracing for a long haul and may struggle to pay their wages.
Stakeholders say the hospitality sector as represented by hotels providing accommodation always braces for low occupancy during February and March. But what is disconcerting is that the bookings made for April and May are getting cancelled en masse. This is true with in-bound domestic tourists and outbound local tourists most of whom have postponed their holidays.
Clamp down
A representative of a leading tour and travel agency in the city said with the governments around the world clamping down on travel, outbound tourists from Mysuru have also been affected. People have been forced to cancel or postpone their plans.
South East Asia was a popular destination among the tourists from Mysuru due to ease of securing visa, affordability and diversity of places of attraction. But with travel restrictions being clamped down, the outbound tourists have also put their plans on hold affecting the local players in the travel sector.
