Impact Of Corona Crisis On Indian Touring Industry

 In this post, let's discuss, in short, the impact of the corona crisis on the touring sector in India. A topic that you can't and shouldn't ignore.

We will be faithful to you. However, we did find it tough to keep our calm while researching this subject since it directly affects us and our company, India by Car and Driver. But as a Tours and Travels Company, we feel the requirement to debate this topic with you.

India's travel and tourism sectors have been a significant contributor to the country's gross domestic product. The area even generates a vast employment base. So by mid-March, the famous tourist attractions in India started to shut down. And the report on putting a stop on flights commenced making rounds. We all started to forecast the lousy future of the tourism industry in the country already. The closing down of the exemplary Taj Mahal on 17th March last year, which attracts millions of travelers every year, was a signal enough to judge the hard blow this crisis was launching at us.

This text will try to understand the importance of the travel industry in the country's economy, the present and future impacts of the virus, and the proposed action plans and recovery plans.

Let us first discuss the part of travel & tourism in India

●       In 2018, travel & tourism contributed 9.2% of the country's GDP and generated 26.7 million jobs that year. This sector not only employs workers in towns but also provides an earnings base for the rural area.

●       The tourism industry accounts for 12.57% of employment in India, 5.56% of it is direct, and 17.9% is indirect.

●       Over 87 million persons were employed in the travel sector in 2018-19 in India, as per the ministry of tourism (MOT) yearly report for 2019-20.

●       It is approximated that in India, branded and organized hotels' yearly profit is 38000 crore rupees (5 billion dollars).

●       The restaurant sector in India has a yearly turnover of approximately 4 lakh crore rupees (53 billion dollars). This sector gives direct employment to more than 7 million persons.

●       India's air vehicle sector employs over 400,000 persons directly, and 940,000 are used in associated supply chains.

Effects of corona crisis on travel & tourism in India

●       India's tourism & hospitality industry had expected a potential job loss of about 38 lakh on the pandemic.

●       In March 2020's 3rd week itself, the motel industry saw a decrease of more than 65% in occupancy rates compared to the same era in 2019.

●       With global and domestic travel put on a stop, demand for turbine fuel has heavily decreased.

●       Indian association of tour operators (IATO) estimated the hotel, aviation, and tourism industry will together suffer a loss of around 85 billion rupees, keeping in mind the travel barriers imposed on foreign tourists.

●       The impact of coronavirus was felt on both blue-collar and white-collar jobs.

●       The country's inbound and outbound travel witnessed an all-time low.

●       The restaurant sector in India expected almost zero income in the immediate term and a decrease of 50% in the months that came.

●       We at India by Car & Driver predicted that at least 30 percent of hotel and hospitality sector income could be impacted if the situation doesn't improve by the end of June 2020.

●       A 15% job loss warning was there in the hotel and restaurant sector once the lockdown was lifted as such industries did not see an immediate flood in demand.

●       It was also predicted that the flight sector in India could have losses worth 27,000 crore rupees (3.3 dollars to 3.6 dollars) in the first quarter of 2020-21

●       The passenger growth of airlines was likely to fall sharply to a negative 20 to 25% growth for 2020-21.

Things you should know

●       India's travel & tourism sector was already facing some trouble before the rise of the corona pandemic due to the impact of the international economic slowdown.

●       Economic growth in the world slowed down in 2019-20, resulting in weaker growth in overseas tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings from travel in India.

●       With more than 60% of organized hotels in India closed, recovery should be expected gradually.

Recovery plans

We are starting at a steady or, in fact, slow recovery scenario of the tourism sector in India. However, the critical thing to focus on is the faith of recovery after all. But, unfortunately, for the recovery of the industry, few things were proposed by the industry leaders.

●      Experts have emphasized the requirement to focus on domestic tourism's potential and gain profit.

●       ICC has suggested setting up a fund to prevent financial and job loss.

●       Experts strongly advise cost optimization.

●       FF & E reserves will be used to support hotel owners.

We will surely recover slowly with these measures and when we do, get ready to enjoy our east, north, west, and South India Tours again.