Hotel, restaurant players seek relaxations in lockdown 4.0

Mumbai, May 16 () Hotel and restaurant players on Saturday urged the government for giving relaxation for the sector during 'lockdown 4.0', at least in green and orange zones, that will help mitigate hardships faced by the industry.

The apex hospitality association has proposed that hotels and restaurants in green zones be allowed to operate at 100 per cent and in orange zones at 50 per cent capacities, the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) said in a statement.

"Even today, containing the spread of the virus remains the country's priority. But we also have to take into account that the hospitality and tourism industry employs over 4.3 crore people. They are relying for their survival. Every lockdown extension is making it difficult for us to keep people employed and to sustain.

"Since the government is relaxing operations for several industries to keep the wheels of economy moving, we are hoping that it allows our industry some relaxation too," FHRAI Vice-President Gurbaxish Singh Kohli said.

Due to the lockdown to curb COVID-19 pandemic, the industry is staring at a potential job loss of around 3.8 crore, which is 70 per cent of the total workforce.

"According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), as many as 7.5 crore travel and tourism jobs are at risk worldwide, one in eight of them are in India. We hope to resume operations and adhere to all the safety measures and follow the compliances strictly. We stand united with the government for eradicating the virus and together we will show the way to the world in achieving this," Kohli added. SM MR