The Outcome of Coronavirus Pandemic on the Tourism Sector in India

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a big scene and destruction in every industry. Tourism is the most affected sector of this distortion caused due to the pandemic. Moksh Popli says that it is causing a crippling setback to the Indian travel and tourism industry on a consequential scale. 

All in all, it is affecting all the verticals of this industry from the ground factors to high-end elements like recreation plans, heritage packages, adventure, cruise journey, corporate tours, and others. The entire chain across the hotels, travel agents, tourist guides, tour agencies, eateries, and air, land, and sea transportation has been hit badly. The complete lockdown of two months has paused everything. Now, the business is trying to start with a scratch at some points. 

The information about the virus was in the news since November 2019 but it came to India in March 2020. Starting from Kerala, Mumbai, and other places it spread in every part of the country within the four months. Moksh Popli marks the reports passed by the CII assessment that the value of risk from this segment will be in multiples of tens of thousands of Crores. 

Since the unlock phases started there is no hope for this industry as it was in earlier days. Once it was a booming sector with numerous perspectives and opportunities across the world. But today, it’s in a miserable condition. As per the latest travel guidelines the government has advised Indians to refrain from unnecessary travel and the visas for the foreigners are also canceled. In December 2019, the holiday season witnessed huge footfall, it was expected to get a hit to 80-100 percent but the virus came and changed everything. It has suspended the tours, resulting in advanced cancellations and reduced bookings. Nowadays, only corporate are flying under the strict norms, if it is too urgent, else work from is advised to everyone. 

Moksh Popli says that during the second phase of unlocking Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand are open for travel. The pressure and aftereffects of the disease aren’t over yet. Every day the new highest spike rate emerges and makes the common man wonder how to deal with it. The experts say that we can’t stick to lockdown for a lifetime, especially economically, ethically, and psychologically. 

With the eases in constraints people are slowly getting used to the new normal. These state governments made it mandatory for tourists to follow the travel advisory strictly. In Himachal Pradesh, tourists are asked to show test reports for negative COVID-19 upon entry. Likewise, Uttarakhand is asking to submit medical reports at the checkpoints. The hotels and homestays are only accepting the bookings for a minimum of five days. With the new rules, the tourism sector is waking-up and returning to its original form.