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‘Fire at hotel will hit travel industry for now’
Death of four, after a major fire broke at Hotel Levana Suites in Lucknow on Monday, has sent a chill among the Lucknowites
Death of four, after a major fire broke at Hotel Levana Suites in Lucknow on Monday, has sent a chill among the Lucknowites.
There is a concern about hotel stays as well as safety in commercial establishments. Tour operators feel that this has “instilled a fear and will affect the business however it will be short-lived.”
People are connecting themselves with the tragedy. “It could have been anybody and can happen anywhere! We too travel and stay in mid-segment hotels so listening to a few incident survivors was really scary. Now onwards staying in hotels or visiting closed enclosures such as malls and multiplexes will be a matter of concern for us,” says Anup Kumar, a telecom employee and frequent traveller owing to his job.
India Association of Tour Operators state chairman Prateek Hira says, “Such incidents definitely spread a scare in the travel industry. We had a booking of Buddhist circuit tourists in a mid-segment hotel which they requested to upgrade to a star-category hotel. Most of the hotels are usually without star rating so there is always a question mark on the facilities and safety parameters. We are getting concern queries from customers after the unfortunate incident.”
Hira recalls how substantial business shifted from Charbagh locality after the June 2018 fire at twin-hotels Virat and SSJ International which caused the death of seven people including an infant. “After that incident a lot of business prospects moved out from that locality. So, for the time-being the fear will be there and customers will become more cautious and aware. But, with time things will be normal,” he adds. A fire also broke out at Hotel Savvy Grand, Gomti Nagar on April 13 this year.
An official from a budget hotel in Alambagh on condition of anonymity, tells, “There is an immediate impact of the sad incident. But this could have happened anywhere. We can just learn from it, be more prepared and take suitable measures. When customers come to us, they themselves check whether all safety norms are in place.”
Though the fear may fade out soon but for the time being there are safety concern and rightly so, he adds.
