The novel coronavirus(COVID19) has affected people and businesses worldwide, triggering a global economy crisis. COVID has severely impacted the tourism sector across the globe. It is the most affected sector that has witnessed the maximum loss. Worldwide, it has cost the industry at least USD 22 billion with a loss of nearly 75 million jobs. In such a situation, the tourism industry in India has seen a significant decline in 2020. It is said to have witnessed a revenue loss of USD 17 billion due to shutting down of hotels,travel agencies and tour operators ; due to suspension and limited usage of flights after the onset and spread of the virus.
But there comes a silver lining amidst dark clouds as few vaccine trials have been successful to a great extent. With a vaccine in place, the global economy including the tourism sector will recover much rapidly”, Says Hirav Shah, Leading Business Astrologer.

Analysis

Tourism industry is the most dynamic sector that benefits many other sectors like lodging, catering, transportation , entertainment etc boosting the economy and recovery globally. The industry is a major source of revenue and employment in many countries. It is a generator for employment, income, tax collections and foreign exchange earnings. India is a major destination for many international tourists, creating several employment opportunities and generating enormous taxes. The foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism is one of the major revenue sources for the Government of India. The FEE is the revenue generated by inbound foreign tourists, and decrease in foreign tourists’ number leads to reduced FEE.

The tourism sector needs a boost to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic since it contributes over 5% of the country’s GDP and directly or indirectly employs over 12% of the working population, amounting to nearly 90 million jobs. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India has ranked 3rd among 185 countries in terms of travel and tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2018.

Even without regard to tourism, the cancellation of events (personal or business) has adversely impacted the revenues of airlines, railways and buses. In addition, demand for petrol, oil and turbine fuel substantially declined, thus affecting the petroleum and oil industries. The impact has been felt on both white and blue-collar jobs. Since airports are functioning at less than their normal capacity, it is impacting the contract and temporary workers in the airports. All this shows the cascading effects of impact to the travel and tourism industry.

Path To Quick Recovery

Initially, the industry was clueless about the way of recovery and everyone started singing the songs of survival and revival without any strategy. There was a total chaos and confusion. Gradually, some clarity poured in and stakeholders started restructuring their business model. In India, domestic tourism resumed in a phased-wise manner. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed airlines to resume operation from May 25 with restrictions on capacity for airlines and now airlines are allowed to operate at 80 percent of pre-covid capacity. There has been a steady increase in demand for leisure post unlock.

A stable recovery for the sector is foreseen, backed by various factors including strong domestic demand for travel, coupled with the fact that flying is the safest mode of travel even in a Covid world. The air traffic has already recovered to 42 per cent of the pre-covid levels and the traffic is expected to strengthen going forward from here. Also, the expected release of COVID-19 vaccination and the replacement of localized quarantine procedures by a robust end-to-end testing protocol as proposed by ICAO, ACI and IATA, will bring about a strong revival in travel demand“, Opines Hirav Shah, Business Astrologer and Strategist.

We have to project a Covid free environment with proper sanitisation of our vehicles, hotels, monuments and airlines etc to project that we are safe to travel. A positive and innovative approach, creative marketing and optimistic thinking will help the industry to revive at faster pace.”, Expresses Shah

Hirav Shah Says,

Building confidence among the people to travel is the need of the hour. Similarly, the hospitality sector is also ready to receive the tourists for a safe and secure stay by strictly following the SOPs as per the guidelines of WHO/ICMR/Government to guarantee the safety of the guests.

Conclusion

2021 will be a resurgence of ‘Domestic Tourism Year’ and bring a fortune to all stakeholders of the industry,
& yes, the revival of tourism will happen, but steadily.”- Quotes Hirav Shah, Leading Astro-Strategist.

Lastly, for owners of Hotel Chains, Independent Hotels, Travel Agencies and Tour Operators ; to know the period when the fruits of fortune would be realised in 2021 and to get their ‘own personalised path of action’ , visiting or consulting an Astro-Strategist is imperative” , Concludes Shah.