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Uttarakhand invites suggestions for reviving tourism sector post Covid-19 lockdown
Lockdown: To revive the tourism sector in the state, the Uttarakhand government is planning to issue sanitisation certificates to hotels on the lines of Singapore to assure the guests that the hotel is sanitised and poses no health safety risk for them.
The Uttarakhand government is working on a strategy to revive tourism, which is one of the major revenue-earning sectors of the Himalayan state, post lockdown. The state annually attracts over 3.5 crore tourists and pilgrims.
The state tourism department has invited suggestions from hoteliers and resort owners on measures that could be taken to revive the industry, officials said on Tuesday.
On Monday during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief ministers, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat had spoken about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the tourism industry in the state. He had requested the PM to allow gradual restart of tourism by allowing it in certain areas of the green zones.
Elaborating on this, state tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said, “The government is definitely working on how to revive tourism as it is time the bread and butter sector for us. We are working on certain plans on how to do it in phases, especially in the green zone areas after the lockdown is lifted.”
Maharaj said, “We have involved the people directly associated in the industry, like hotel and resort owners, by inviting suggestions from them. We have already received some suggestions which we are contemplating while chalking out our strategy.”
The government has already said that it is planning to issue sanitisation certificates to hotels on the lines of Singapore to assure the guests that the hotel is sanitised and poses no health safety risk for them.
“I have requested the chief minister to open the temples in green zones areas which will help in bringing daily life back on track,” said Maharaj.
Earlier on Monday evening, state tourism department secretary Dilip Jawalkar , during a meeting with district tourism development officers to discuss the issue, said, “Department is planning to give some relaxations to hoteliers and resort owners considering the losses due to the pandemic.”
“We may give concessions in the payment of bills for power and water to them for the lockdown period as the businesses have been totally shut down. We are also focussing on effective implementation of the state’s Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Self-employment scheme to revive the tourism sector,” said Jawalkar.
Though the Uttarakhand government is working on plans to revive tourism in state but people involved in the industry believe there will be “no business for at least next six months.”
Surendra Pal, general secretary, Corbett hotel and resort association said, “Despite all the revival efforts, we can see no business for next few months, till at least September.”
Pal said, “The hotel and resort industry which has been majorly affected by the pandemic will have to go under an overhaul for new infrastructure and training of staff to adhere with sanitisation measures as an effect of this pandemic. It will take time and resources and won’t be an easy task.”
Pal, who is also a member of Uttaranchal hotel association, however, said, “We will not bow down and prepare accordingly to revive the industry as this is our livelihood and of all other people related to it.”
