Pronab Sarkar is president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO). As the Covid-19 calamity has left the tourism sector reeling, Sarkar has sought a bailout package from the government for the industry in the absence of which many jobs may have to be retrenched.

In an interview with ABHIJEET ANAND, he talks about the concerns of tour operators in the current scenario.

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Excerpts:

Q: How has coronavirus affected the tourism sector?

A: Tourism sector is the worst affected as of now, because it has never happened that the entire tourism business has come to a standstill on the directive of the government. All visas are being cancelled. This started with effect from 3 March when the government declared no more visas would be issued.

The first thing the government did was to ban Chinese tourists and Chinese airlines. These initiatives have reduced the impact of coronavirus in India. But at the same time, outbound and inbound tourism have come to a standstill. We were asked by Ministry of Tourism to send back all tourists to their own countries by 15 March or maximum by 17 March as a goodwill gesture on the part of our country.

The government has banned entry to ASIprotected monuments. Most state governments, including Punjab, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have stopped welcoming tourists. Resorts have been closed in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala no check-in is allowed. In Maharashtra, sightseeing has been proscribed.

Q: Tourism appears to have been worst hit by recession.

A: Huge recession, I will say. It is a compulsive recession. There is no choice. Health is more important. If you survive, only then can you do business.

Q: Which are the tourism verticals that have been the worst affected?

A: All verticals including hotels, tour operators, transport companies and aviation sector. All of them have been badly affected.

Q: What is your topmost concern?

A: Our topmost concern is that there is no business. We have lost 15 lakh tourists who generally visit India during these months and money as well as foreign exchange to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore. We are not able to meet operational costs. The cash flow has stopped.

We are not getting refunds of the money paid to purchase air tickets. We had also paid advances for hotels and resorts. Now tourists have cancelled their visits. We need to get back that money. We had also booked luxury trains and a lot of jungle safaris in parks. Huge money is blocked.

Tourists are asking for their money to be returned. We have asked all hotel associations, state governments and the Central government to refund the money that is blocked. But we are not getting a good response. We hope something happens, so that we can also pay our foreign agents and clients.

Q: What do you want the government to do for the tourism industry?

A: Since it is on the directive of the government that tourism has come to a standstill, it should step in to help us. A bailout package should be given to the sector. Small tour operators are shutting their businesses and it has become difficult for big operators to survive.

If some financial help is not given, these jobs will have to be retrenched. The government should also give us exemption from income tax for a couple of years. We have requested the government to withdraw GST on tourism packages.

We have also requested the government to exempt us from Tax Collection at Source (TCS) which is a new tax being levied on outbound tourism with effect from 1 April.

Q: How much time will it will take for the industry to revive?

A: We cannot predict at the moment. Because we have not reached the peak of coronavirus infection in our country. We are entering the third stage. We have to see how things pan out. We have to make an assessment of the losses. Only then can we say something.

Q: Has such a recession in tourism ever been witnessed before?

A: This has happened before. This happened when the country got stricken by plague and when the Mumbai attack happened. Kargil war and 9/11 attack also had some impact. Also, this happened during Mandal Commission protests. But the scale of recession is unprecedented this time.

Q: Do you support the decision on the cancellation of all visas?

A: I will say that it is the right decision. Because if such a decision was not taken, the pandemic would have assumed larger proportions. We are cooperating with the government. Certainly, there is a huge loss for our business. But we support whatever decision has been taken for the common cause of citizen.