Spending some tranquil moments in the midst of nature in the summer is a way of de-stressing for Dr Meena, an ophthalmologist, and her family, who normally head to the hills to escape the sweltering heat of Bengaluru. But the summer of 2020 is a summer of discontent not only for these travel enthusiasts but also for the entire travel fraternity. Due to COVID-19 and the nationwide lockdown, everyone will have to give their summer vacations a miss or postpone it.
In early March, the simmering discontent was palpable in Mysore, Coorg, Kabini, Chikmagalur, Karnataka’s biggest contributors to the tourism industry. “Normally, during school holidays, these summer destinations get the highest occupancy. Also, April, May and June are key months for these places. But April witnessed a complete closure of our resorts due to travel bans and quarantines,” says Jos Ramapuram, Executive Director, Evolve Back, a leading hospitality chain with resorts in Coorg, Kabini and Hampi.
“Things are going to worsen in the coming months. With mass cancellations of hotel reservations, and safaris, entry to monuments and other related activities coming to a standstill, it is difficult for us to pay staff salaries, advance tax, PF, ESIC, GST, excise, etc.” Jos laments. He is apprehensive about the uncertainty of the economic aftermath of the lockdown. With declining revenues, resorts are running out of working capital.
The Karnataka Tourism Forum (KTF), a non-profit organisation comprising tourism professionals and companies dedicated to improving tourism in the state, is awaiting lifting of the lockdown so that they can resume marketing of niche destinations. “Our first marketing initiative, ‘Chikmagalur Blossoms’, a 4-day event launched in January for 50 top travel agents and journalists from across India to showcase Chikmagalur as a potential destination was a big hit. KTF will extend its marketing activities to other select, lesser known destinations in Karnataka,” says Sanjar Imam, Founder Director, Panache World and President, KTF.
When travelling becomes a possibility, Sanjar adds, “We have planned a series of roadshows in different parts of the country and also familiarisation trips for select travel agents from various cities that are tourism feeder markets to Karnataka, to expose them to new circuits of niche destinations. Familiarisation trips work wonders as experiencing a destination personally becomes emotionally inspirational and in turn sharing inspires others to travel.”
Other promotional plans include the use of digital platforms to organise webinars and training for the frontline staff of travel companies and to reach out to the consumers.
Members of the Karnataka Tourism Society (KTS), a collective to promote tourism in the state, believe in regular communication with their customers. “We have urged our clients to disseminate the message of ‘Postpone travel, don’t cancel’. Now our focus is on survival and keeping our employees safe. Our agency has incurred a loss of Rs 35 lakh revenue per month from March 2020,” says S Mahalingaiah, Director, Skyway International, and Secretary, KTS.
With massive slump in bookings, hoteliers had to bear the major brunt of the lockdown. “The occupancy in hotels has fallen drastically, which has a cascading effect on every business activity of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Over 18 lakh persons are directly employed in the industry in our state while more than a crore rely indirectly on the industry for their livelihood,” says K Syamaraju, President, KTS.
Syamaraju pointed out that several governments facing similar calamities have come forward and announced economic reliefs and stimulus packages to the tourism and hospitality industry. He explained that the Australian government has announced a relief fund of $1 billion for tourism and agriculture; United States has announced a $50 billion relief package; the EU has allowed the entire tourism and hotel industry time for re-payments in 12 months and exempted them from taxes for 12 months; the UAE government has relieved all hotels from payment of VAT for 12 months while the Singapore government has announced S$25 billion relief plus one year tax holiday.
Facing pressure, KTS has been pushing for relief from the government to stem the financial loss. Tourism stakeholders have petitioned the government for a fund for 12 months to support basic salaries with direct transfer to the affected tourism employees and tax waiver due to mass cancellation of tours and hotels. They have requested full exemption from payment of GST for the next 6 months and a moratorium on debt repayment and monetary support to contracted workforce. They have also appealed for an exemption from payment of loan instalments for the next 6 months and not to treat the break in instalments as non-performing assets (NPA). Another issue taken up is the deferment of the proposed Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on travel in Finance Bill 2020.
KTS has appealed to the state government for 50% concession on payment of property tax and permission to pay it on or before September 30, 2020 without any kind of penalty/interest. Tour operators, employee transport operators, all India permit buses/mini coach operators, maxi cab operators, state & all India permit vehicle operators have sought exemption from payment of the quarterly Vehicle Road Tax for the upcoming quarter (from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020). Other exemptions sought include payment of 50% of Annual Excise License Fee on or before September 30, 2020.
During these turbulent times, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) continues to facilitate the transport of essential commodities through cargo operations though the airport has been closed since March 30.
“We have started Namma Chethana, an initiative to distribute food packets and groceries to stranded migrant workers, daily wage earners, villagers, policemen, and those working in the unorganised sector across Chikkabalapur district until the situation returns to normal,” said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL.
BIAL employees have come forward to contribute one day’s salary to this initiative. BIAL will also make a substantial monetary contribution.
In addition to this, BIAL has undertaken an intensive disinfection and sanitisation drive across its premises to ensure that the highest standards of hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation are maintained before operations resume. BIAL says the airport is all geared up to welcome passengers back.
There is no question that it’s tough times ahead for the entire travel fraternity. They will have to reinvent themselves to stay afloat in the industry. Leisure travel to exotic destinations abroad will likely reduce. The focus should be on selective travel and reclusive vacations in safe locations. In Karnataka, domestic tourism is sure to be the revival mantra for the travel fraternity.
Susheela Nair is an independent food, travel and lifestyle writer, and photographer based in Bangalore. She has contributed content, articles and images on food, travel, lifestyle, photography, environment and ecotourism to several reputed national publications. Her writings constitute a wide spectrum, including guide books, brochures and coffee table books.
