Disappointed with the neglect of the hospitality sector in the Budget, the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) on Wednesday said in the absence of sector-specific stimulus package, atleast 30-40 per cent restaurants and 20-30 per cent hotels in the country may shut down resulting in massive job losses.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the apex industry body has also expressed its “disbelief” in the reduction in Budget allocation to the Ministry of Tourism by 19 per cent.

“We are really disheartened to see that tourism and hospitality — the biggest casualty of the pandemic have been continuously ignored by the government. It did not even find a mention in the Budget presented by the Finance Minister. The FHRAI has been vociferously advocating for some real relief measures to help the sector come out of the biggest crisis. Despite our numerous representations over the last 10 months and multiple meetings with the highest echelons in the Government, the hospitality sector has been blatantly ignored,” said Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice-President, FHRAI.

Stating that the Prime Minister has been a strong proponent of India’s tourism potential, the industry body has sought a meeting with him on these issues.

FHRAI pointed out that while a majority of the sectors are on the recovery path, the hospitality sector continues to bleed and is facing an uncertain future.

“Tourism and hospitality sector accounts for close to 10 per cent of India’s GDP and supports around 90 million jobs. It generated foreign exchange earnings (FEE) to the tune of ₹1,94,881 crore in 2019 and yet, the sector did not even find a mention in the Budget. Additionally, the Budget knocked off 19 per cent from the Budget allocated for the Ministry of Tourism which has come as a severe blow to the revival efforts of the tourism industry,” added Surendra Kumar Jaiswal, Vice-President, FHRAI.

Published on February 10, 2021