G20 Summit cost Rs 400 crore in lost business: Traders

The G20 Summit may have been a resounding success for India, but it caused estimated losses of about ₹400 crore for shops and restaurants and impacted some 9,000 delivery workers as markets and malls in the New Delhi area remained closed.

Many businesses even outside the controlled zone saw sales halve as traffic curbs forced people to stay indoors, industry executives said.

"Traders in New Delhi suffered an estimated loss of about ₹300-400 crore in these three days of closure," said Atul Bhargava, president of New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA). "We were looking forward to the event but since security is the prime concern, we believe guests should go back with the right image of the country," he added.


All commercial and economic establishments in New Delhi district were closed between September 8 and 10 for the summit.

"Both dine and delivery numbers have dropped by at least 50% in Delhi, and in NCR, sales saw a decline to the extent of 20%. It is clear that sales have been impacted on account of hosting an event of this scale," said Anjan Chatterjee, chairman of Speciality Restaurants, which operates Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta chains. "Our vendors too expressed their inability to deliver supplies over this duration."

Since the summit coincided with a long weekend, there was further loss of business opportunity. "In Delhi, our sales are down by about 50%, and even in Gurgaon, our sales are impacted by about 20%," said Rohit Aggarwal, director at Lite Bite Foods, which operates Punjab Grill, Zambar and YouMee chains.

The capital's top markets such as Khan Market, Connaught Place and Janpath - which are top draws for shopping and dining and attract large numbers of international visitors - missed what would have been a terrific opportunity. The spillover impact was felt across the capital, executives said.