Hoteliers seek government support to revive tourism infra post-Fani

BHUBANESWAR: With less than two months to go for Rath Yatra, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) on Wednesday convened an emergency meeting here to take stock of Fani’s impact on tourism infrastructure and expedite steps for its revival.

The apex body of the hospitality industry in the State has sought the support of the Government for overcoming the challenging period and reviving the infrastructure at the earliest. “The damage to the hotel industry in Puri and Bhubaneswar has been estimated at Rs 500 crore.  The Government must plan relief measures to compensate for the loss. We will soon submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister in this regard,” said HRAO chairman Jitendra Kumar Mohanty.

While lodges and hotels in Puri have been devastated, the ones in the Capital also faced the wrath of the cyclone. There are around 800 lodges and hotels in the pilgrim town. 
Hoteliers from Puri said customers will be refunded for the bookings they had made this month. If the customers desire, their bookings can also be rescheduled. The association said it is hopeful that most of the hotels in Puri will resume their operations by the first week of June. ed.

The HRAO will approach the Government seeking a two year moratorium to hoteliers on existing term loans for repayment of principal amount and interest, disbursal of fresh term loans for reconstruction, restoration and rehabilitation with interest free moratorium period of two years and fresh sanctions without any approval or documentation on a priority basis within 30 days from the date of submission of loan applications. 

The association said it will also request the Government to instruct all insurance companies to disburse at least 50 per cent of the claims to the affected hotels by May 30, immediate restoration of power supply in Puri, clearing of sewerage lines and restoration of drainage system in the town and to make all street lights and lights installed at public places operational at the earliest.

This apart, HRAO has sought special tax exemption to the hotel industry under heads of GST, holding tax, municipal tax and other relevant statutory taxes and exemption of employer’s contribution towards PF and ESI for two years for all hoteliers as businesses were severely affected. The association said it expects the State Government and Centre to reduce GST on hotels having the tariff of Rs 7, 500 and above from 28 per cent to 18 per cent and to include hotels in infrastructure category under Section 80-IA of Income Tax Act. 
Besides, a high-level committee under Secretary Tourism and other sectoral experts should be formed to ensure speedy resolution of issues concerning the tourism sector post-Fani.

The body has also sought long term measures for tourism development like the operation of more international flights to and from the State, increasing number of star category hotels and establishment of international standard tourism infrastructure and facilities.