Stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality sector in Mysuru have welcomed the government’s decision to lift night curfew besides easing certain COVID-19 related restrictions that were in place.
The hospitality sector whose fortunes are linked to the revival of tourism was peeved when the government lifted the weekend curfew but insisted on a 50 per cent occupancy rule for hotels, bars and pubs.
But Saturday’s decision revoking the rule, has evoked positive response and the stakeholders aver it will help revive tourism and address livelihood issue.
Tourism is one of the major economic drivers of Mysuru generating nearly 50,000 to 60,000 direct and indirect jobs and the sector has spanned 415 hotels apart from bars and restaurants. The COVID-19 restrictions affected the sector the most and though there were signs of revival since October 2021, the onset of the third wave and the introduction of the weekend curfew neutralised the gains.
That the slowdown in the tourism and travel was real was also evident in the decline in the footfall in Mysuru palace and other places of interest while the inbound and outbound passenger traffic by rail and air also declined. So much so that in the second week of January, out of nearly 10,300 rooms available for tourists, hardly around 200 were occupied and the occupancy rates were the lowest ever, according to the stakeholders.
Karnataka Tourism Society which represents the stakeholders in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector at the State level, had also pleaded with the government to lift the curbs to enable the economy to gain traction. The industry, they said, had shrunk and the job loss was pegged at 5 lakh and the revenue loss to the industry over 18 months was pegged at ₹75,000 crore, according to the Society.
