Hospitality sector cautious about tourism revival

According to conservative estimates, Mysuru drew nearly 3.5 million tourists each year in the days leading up to the pandemic

The hotel and hospitality sector in Mysuru is expected to reopen in full, subject to minor restrictions as a result of the state unlocking from Monday.

For the stakeholders, however, this is not the proverbial new beginning, as the fate of the industry depends to a large extent on the pull of the tourism industry, which is in the doldrums. Mysuru drew close to 3.5 million tourists every year in the days leading up to the pandemic, according to conservative estimates. The tourism sector alone used to create direct jobs between 80,000 and 100,000 and created part-time jobs, all of which are affected by the pandemic.

Although places of tourist interest including temples will also reopen from Monday, the hospitality industry does not plan to resume normal business operations for at least another six months.

Tourists from Kerala

“Even if Karnataka reopens, there will be restrictions on people coming from Kerala, where COVID-19 cases are high. In addition, it is compulsory to carry an RT-PCR negative report with you if trips from some other countries and thus interstate tourist traffic remain impaired, ”said Narayana Gowda, President of the Hotel Owners Association.

Stakeholders said tourism activity in Mysuru was driven by domestic travelers from other states, and nearly 50% of the traffic came from Kerala. However, given the uncertainty about easy travel and strict border controls, the flow of tourists from this state will remain subdued for some time.

Hotel room

There are 10,000 rooms in Mysuru and the surrounding area, from budget to luxury hotels for different categories of visitors. Of these, however, only around 300 to 400 rooms are occupied at any given time, which underlines the seriousness of the situation in the hospitality industry.

Sources in the tourism department said while preparations have been made to reopen all the hotels managed by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) after the unblocking, they do not expect an immediate surge in tourism-oriented activity.

Still to benefit

In the meantime, the hospitality industry has yet to benefit from a number of measures that the government announced almost two weeks ago.

This included a three-month waiver of the current fixed costs for electricity and a 50 percent waiver of property tax for hotels for one year.

Although the government has announced the measures, it has yet to be communicated which local service providers insist on paying full fees.