Nil tourist season leaves hoteliers in losses due to coronavirus pandemic

Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, June 2

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Grappling with losses with a nil tourist season the hoteliers in Kasauli and Chail—the majority of whom were yet to repay bank loans worth crores—were finding it hard to sustain in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tourist season, which begins in April and lasts till June, accounts for 50 to 60 per cent of the annual business.

With all hotels facing closure since March, payment of salaries to the staff, repayment of loans and bearing the recurring expenditure like power bills has become a Herculean task.

As much as 80 per cent of the hotels in Kasauli—which is a favourite destination of tourists from the Tricity—were yet to repay loans worth crores.

There were about 100 hotels, homestays and bed and breakfast units in this area.

Rocky Chimni, Vice President, Kasauli Residents and Hotel Association, said it has become difficult to survive in the absence of a revival and survival package and a suitable financial package should be given to all hotels to cover business losses incurred during the lockdown.

This includes a waiver of interest on existing term loans and cash credit(CC) limits availed from the banks and extension of existing term loans and CC limit with no additional collateral.”

“Since the earning of the hotels has become nil, all fixed taxes, cess, license fees, government rentals should also be waived for the lockdown period from April 2020 onwards and instead of levying commercial power charges, domestic should be charged. No electricity and water charges are taken from hotels which are presently lying closed since lockdown” added Chimney.

Echoing similar sentiments, Devinder Verma, President Chail Hotel Association having about 50 hotels, said though the State Government has waved off demand charge for power other measures like permitting the State Co-operative banks to provide interest-free loans and deferring the loan re-payment till March 2021 should also be considered.

Apart from this, no interest should be a charged on the EMIs as hoteliers contribute a significant chunk to the state’s GDP.

“Government should pay minimum wages to all Hotel employees during the lockdown. There are about 50,000 employees in tourism units of private and government sector in the State. The total amount will be less than 50 crores per month which should be paid by way of direct transfers to all employees of tourism units,” added Rocky Chimney.

Running hotels once the lockdown ceases will be equally cumbersome and additional measures like reduction of the GST to 9 per cent for two-years was also being demanded to revive this sector.

“An additional 9 per cent “COVID–20 surcharges’ from the visiting customers in room and food charges should also be permitted to make up for the losses in sales during the lockdown,” opines Binny Chadda, another hotelier from Kasauli.

In a bid to boost this sector expediting infrastructure works like helipads, repair and maintenance of national and state highways, link roads etc, and providing a special budget for marketing of the State as a safe travel destination should be undertaken for tourism promotion, adds another hotelier.