Authored article by: Siddharth Goenka, CEO & Founder of Aiosell Technologies
Novel Corona Virus, the global pandemic is nothing less than a war to mankind. As per the reports of the World Health Organization, COVID-19 is growing rapidly. The sudden rush of this multiplying virus has resulted in the lockdown of the entire country. Indeed along with mankind, the growth and economy of a developing country like India is at stake. It is among the top 15 most affected economies due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The impact of Corona Virus on the trade conducted by India is estimated to be 348 million dollars. The lockdown of the entire country has resulted in the closure of malls, cineplex, restaurants, gyms, educational institutes and various tourists’ sites. This has resulted in the downfall of the country’s economy. Among the various other worrying industries, the Hospitality and Tourism Industry is being highly affected. It has descended 80-90%.
The hotel industry requires a fixed cost for its operations. Manpower, rent, interest and lot others count in the fixed expenses of a hotel. We are bound to operate our hotels at minimum capacity to serve our guests who are already staying with us. The closing of the tourism industry is the need of the hour but the loss which it is facing cannot be neglected. The coming six months are expected to go harsh with the tourism industry. With the stretch of this virus outbreak, both internal and external tourism is bound to suffer. The past few weeks have brought in the forefront the problems which follow this pandemic.
The travel and tourism industry globally is facing issues with this outbreak. Airlines, hotels, travel operators are bearing mass cancellations of both national and international tours. The current season of March and April receives the highest number of bookings for the post-exam travelling. But this summer vacations are most likely to be spent at home due to the increasing cases of Covid-19 positives worldwide.
The government of India has taken major steps to save the country despite the fiscal collapse which we are about to face. The Government of India, considering manpower as the top priority has banned all domestic and international flights. They have cancelled the valid visas and the tourism industry is on termination period now. The hotels and flights have faced 90% cancellations in the past few days resulting to a massive loss in the industry. Although work from home is resulting in running of operations in industry, there is a decline of 30% in employee productivity. Clients are fair on their part, requesting the deduction in fees due to limited services. But the travel companies have their fixed expenses which are leading them to sink in catastrophe, not to mention about raising new capital anytime soon.
The entire world is facing this pandemic today. The history of the Indian hospitality industry for the first time is experiencing lockdown and economic loss at an extreme level. We need to stand together in this to save our country and our industry. We just hope for this pandemic to end soon. The near future after this virus outbreak ends needs us to work as one to flourish again.
