Hotels and restaurants will not remain shut till October 15 on account of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Tourism quashed all rumours to this effect.

The statement follows a fake letter which did the rounds on social media and chat platforms earlier this week, creating panic among industry players.

The Ministry, which has also lodged an FIR with the Mumbai cyber police, said: “It has been noticed that a fake letter claiming that hotels/restaurants will remain closed till 15th October 2020 due to coronavirus outbreak, is doing the rounds in social media in the name of Ministry of Tourism, and creating panic among whole tourism sector.”

The Ministry of Tourism clarified that “no such letter has been issued by Ministry of Tourism”

The Ministry had earlier issued denials on social media and “lodged a complaint with the cybercrime unit of Mumbai police.”

According to industry bodies, the coronavirus pandemic has hit the tourism industry really hard. “There are nil revenues and almost all tourism businesses are running out of working capital. The clock is ticking fast on all cash outflow payments, which if not addressed, could put at risk tourism economic value of almost Rs 5 lakh crore and employment of an estimated 3.8 crore jobs, created directly and indirectly by tourism,” Aashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), told BusinessLine.

Such rumours can create more fear among players and the masses, and “people must not believe such kind of fake news”, the Ministry said.

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