COVID-19: Himachal's travel and tourism industry urges help from govt

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 10 : While almost all businesses have been impacted due to COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown, the travel and tourism industry is going through one of the worst phases due to a complete shutdown.
Hoteliers and travel agents in Himachal Pradesh's capital city, Shimla, which used to be one of the favourites for both domestic and international tourists, complained of a complete shutdown in activities and demanded help from the government to get back on their feet.
Chander Mohan Sharma, a hotelier in Shimla said, "Business is down 100 per cent due to the lockdown, it is almost zero right now. Allied services such as taxis, travel agents, among others are adversely affected by it and I do not think the business will begin in the next 5-6 months. We still need to give salaries to our staff and pay the bills."
Similar sentiments were echoed by, Rajinder Mehta, a travel agent who demanded that the government provide some financial assistance to those associated with the industry.
"Business till March was very good, but it kept deteriorating after March 15 as the COVID-19 cases kept increasing. Now it seems there will not be any business in the next few months to come. The government should give us some allowance or some other help. All my bookings are cancelled, I had to refund around Rs 1.5-2 Lakh to the clients following cancellations," Mehta said.
He added that the queries of travel enthusiasts for the coming months too had dropped, but expressed the hope that Indian tourists will come back to their favourite locations once the situation is brought under control in the country, possibly by November-December this year or January 2021.