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Dharamshala hoteliers demand change in SoPs, to keep hotels shut till July 30
President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Dharamshala Ashwani Bamba said the SOPs issued by the state government are difficult and will not help in reviving tourism and hospitality sector.
Seeking changes in the ‘unreasonable’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Himachal Pradesh government to resume tourism activities, hoteliers in Dharamshala have decided to keep their hotels shut till July 30.
President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Dharamshala Ashwani Bamba said the SOPs issued by the state government are difficult and will not help in reviving tourism and hospitality sector.
“A meeting of the association was held on Saturday and we have decided to keep the hotels shut as these SOPs are not acceptable to us,” Bamba said.
He said they want an amendment in the five-day advance hotel booking condition for tourists. “Tourists are not willing to visit the state due to the irrational condition,” Bamba said, adding that the government should reduce the limit to two-days.
He said even during the peak season, the average stay of a guest in tourist destination is not more than two days. “The association has got feedback from travel agents who say that the tourists are reluctant to come due to the conditions,” he added.
He said when the government has made a Covid-19 negative certificate mandatory for tourists, the condition of five-day booking is utterly unreasonable.
Similarly, the condition related to vehicle sanitisation is also impractical given the fact that the government has not mentioned about which agencies will issue the certificate.
Bamba said the SOPs also require hotel owners to allow entry of tourists even if they are having Covid-19 like symptoms. “This will cause unnecessary trouble for hotel owners and if a tourist tests positive for the virus, the premises will be sealed and staff quarantined.
He, however, said the hotels which are ready to comply with the current SOPs are free to operate. Tourism activities in Himachal are closed since March due to Covid-19 outbreak. Under the guidelines for Unlock Phase-II, the government has allowed tourism activities to resume with certain restrictions.
