BJP tourism cell for package to Himachal hotels

Our Correspondent

Palampur, December 11

The tourism development cell of the state BJP has requested the government to come out with a special package to revive the tourism industry, which suffered a major setback because of the pandemic. Many hotels owners have been forced to sell their properties because of the heavy bank liabilities.

The cell met here today, under Parveen Sharma, Chairman of HIMUDA. He said the tourism industry played a significant role in the economy of the state, providing direct and indirect employment to over 10 lakh people and contributing over seven per cent to the state’s GDP.

None serious

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None in the government is serious about our problems. We are not demanding any favour from the government but only fighting for our rights. In other sectors, the state government has granted liberal assistance but in the case of the tourism industry, none has come forward to help. — Ravinder Sharma, Resort owner

However, he admitted that it had failed to get a special package or financial support from the state and the Centre.

Sharma assured the hoteliers that he would take up the issue with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. The state government was well versed with the situation and soon it would announce relief for the hotel industry, he maintained.

Various stakeholders said the Rs 20 lakh crore package, released by the Prime Minister after the lockdown, had not extended any help to the state’s tourism industry.

The stakeholders could not even get benefit on account of bank interest and electricity bill wavier for the lockdown period, when the industry was totally shut.

Ravinder Sharma, owner of a resort, said the state government had not implemented its commitments to the industry in the past too, and these had remained confined to files.

Despite Himachal being a major tourism hub, the government had failed to come out with a new tourism policy. States like Maharashtra had already accorded the status of an industry to tourism but the Himachal Government had failed to do so, despite the repeated requests.