Struggling to stay afloat, stakeholders have demanded the resumption of houseboat operations.
The houseboat sector came to a grinding halt two months ago after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic started sweeping the State, which forced the government to declare a Statewide lockdown.
The pandemic-stricken sector, which finds nothing to cheer for in the Centre’s stimulus package announced earlier this week, sees reopening as the first step towards a long road to normalisation.
“The credit guarantee schemes announced by the Union Finance Minister are in no way beneficial to small tourism business owners like houseboats. It is purely for Ministry of Tourism certified travel agents and licensed guides. That too is a very late and small help to the sinking ship. The governments should allow us to do business by opening up or at least announce the dates for opening up rather than announcing more and more loans,” said Jobin J. Akkarakalam, vice-president, Kerala Houseboat Owners Federation.
Mr. Akkarakalam said direct cash benefits to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), looking at the average Goods and Services Tax remitted in the last three years, would be a great support to SMEs. It would help to pay off creditors, which would also help bring in more money circulation in the market.
Kevin Rozario, general secretary, All Kerala Houseboat Owners and Operators Samiti, said they were awaiting a nod from the government to resume operations.
“Houseboats remained anchored for six months in 2020. After the sector reopened in October, the business never returned to pre-COVID-19 times due to poor tourist footfall. The second wave of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have spelled disaster for the sector. It is important houseboat operations resume at the earliest. Most of the employees and owners in Alappuzha have already received at least one jab of the COVID-19 vaccine and are awaiting the government decision on reopening,” said Mr. Rozario.
Several of the owners have taken bank loans and the crisis has pushed a number of them into a debt trap. Apart from the owners, a large number of people allied with the sector have found the going tough.
The State government is planning to open tourism destinations in a phased manner. “To reopen, all workers in the sector need to be vaccinated. Several people in Alappuzha have already received the shots and steps are being taken to vaccinate the rest,” said a State Tourism Department official.