The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to standstill various appendages of the tourism industry. Of these, the travel agencies, tourism operators, transporters, holidays planners are the worst affected. These entities are facing existential crisis due to the nationwide and international COVID-induced travel restrictions. The general fear and inhibition among people to venture out of their homes is causing significant damage as well. Government intervention and financial packages may bring some relief but till the COVID-19 scare prevails, these agencies will continue to struggle.
The cascading effect on the industry is evident from the loss of jobs and the unrest among the stakeholders. The enormous number of cancellation of trains, flights and hotel bookings have disrupted the micro-economy severely. The trickle-down effect on the travel agents, taxi operators, tour guides, tour operators, trip organisers, etc. has been drastic with serious implications on lives and livelihoods.
Travel agencies in financial fix
Travel agencies, in particular, have been facing the wrath of the pandemic as their existence is dependent on ‘travel’ only. In Chandigarh, travel agencies are particularly affected due to the lockdown and the ensuing restrictions. Travel Agency Association of India Chairman H S Sidhu says, “Big travel agencies are somehow managing but those in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are in trouble.” Just like in Chandigarh, ‘hopeful’ travel agencies in India were getting ready to start operations in July. However, the uncertainty surrounding the crisis and the fast-changing guidelines in India and globally have affected the revenues and dampened all hopes of a quick recovery.
“In the month of July only we had realised that sales would be affected in the coming months so we followed up the airlines to give a refund to the people who had made prior bookings. Air India’s refund is still due. The flow of money has stopped as of now and we can’t even force our customers to pay us right now. We are paying with whatever money we have saved,” says Sidhu.
The authorities had told airlines to refund passengers for the tickets booked during the lockdown. The travel agents, on the other hand had no recourse but to pay customers from their pockets. “My wallet balance is increasing, but the cash balance in my bank account is falling. It’s the travel-agent community that’s getting hurt, says Easemytrip Chief Executive Officer Nishant Pitti referring to the credit he is accumulating from airlines.
Tour operators face existential crisis
Delhi-based tour operator Shahzaad Khan says, “I have a family of five to feed with an ailing mother… and a staff of four to take care of. The lockdown crippled my life. And even now, I am not sure how long will it take before life becomes ‘normal’ again” Before the lockdown, Shahzaad had been organising heritage walks and cultural tours in and around Delhi for almost 15 years. “Sometimes, on special request, I would also organise tours to Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur, Ahmedabad even Kutch. I don’t have any social media presence. My business has grown only with word of mouth and I have cared for my staff like a family,” he says.
Shahzaad’s situation is symbolic of thousands of tour operators across India who are waiting for a ‘miracle’ to happen. Shahzaad’s octagenarian mother Tehseen feels tough decisions have to be taken in tough situations and says, “Who knew a day like this will come? I will support my son in whatever he does for the family’s sustenance.”
Small enterprises struggle to survive
Hundreds of associated small businesses that thrive on tourism such as shops, enterprises making and selling ‘local’ handicrafts, artefacts, art-work and other merchandise have been hit as well. In Mumbai’s Dharavi which is popular among international tourists, potter Ashish Solanki sits quietly outside his now-shut shop in Kumbharwada. “The lockdown happened at the peak of the tourist season. All my merchandise now lies unsold. With my family, I had started preparing for the season and had created the inventory well in time. The season was just picking up when the pandemic brought everything to a halt,” he says.
Ashwin’s is one of the hundreds of families who made a living by making and selling pottery works. “My income is gone but the expenses remain intact. And this year the rains in Mumbai really made things very difficult. All my inventory…my hardwork… my pots were damaged in the heavy rains.” “We were hoping to see some business during Janmashtami and now the Ganpati festival. But now, with no end of the pandemic in sight, that hope’s gone too. I might have to look for some other work or go back to the village.” .
Transporters nervous owing to restrictions
Some states like Maharashtra reached out to transporters to address their issues during the lockdown. This was done in June after Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana (MBMS) demanded that the ‘pass system for interstate travel be scrapped while inter-district travel in private buses is still prohibited’. Transport Commissioner Shekar Channe said, “The government has formed the task force to resolve the issues of transporters that have arisen due to restrictions imposed due to Covid-19 outbreak.”
“Most of us are engaged in tourism-related transport activities. After the lockdown ended, most businesses were permitted to resume operations, but tourism is last on priority. That makes our future uncertain too. It’s important that we do something about it soon before it gets too late,” says a nervous Mumbai-based tour bus operator Nitin Shinde. The discussions will also include representatives of Maharashtra State Trucks, Tempo, Tanker Federation; Bus Transport Federation; of various autorickshaws and taxi unions; president of Maharashtra Truck, Tempo, Owners Association; and other transport associations.
Government initiatives are inadequate
All the businesses and operations associated with tourism are virtually closed since the lockdown was implemented. With no revenues and mounting ‘unavoidable’ fixed costs, debts and liabilities, the entire tourism ecosystem is on the verge of crumbling down. In May 2020, the central government made a slew of announcements to provide relief to some of the worst affected sectors in the country. The government announced it was ‘extending the validity period of approvals and classification of hotels till 30 June’. This came as a short-lived relief to hotel owners, tourist transporters, travel agents, tour operators and other affiliated entities. These businesses won’t survive till movement of people comes somewhere close to that of pre-COVID times.
In most countries around the world, including India, travel agencies are experiencing a significant shift in enquiries from prospective travellers. “People now want to travel to domestic destinations.There is a fear of being stranded abroad, ” says Ahmedabad-based travel consultant Ruhi Jain adding “Tourism is going through a tectonic shift in terms of people’s preferences, destinations, stays and travel patterns. The COVID-19 pandemic has really shaken people to the core.”