ATTOI’s Jayachandran calls for road-tax waiver of tourist vehicles for a year

ATTOI executive committee member & CEO of Tourdesigners, VG Jayachandran has urged the government to waive off road tax of tourist vehicles for a period of one year, besides providing interest free or low interest loans to tourism entrepreneurs to rebuild the business.

The tourism sector has been hit badly by cancellation of bookings by tourists due to the onslaught of the corona virus pandemic. Several airlines have also cancelled flights to many countries.

Jayachandran said a moratorium alone wasn’t sufficient. “It doesn’t mean even a waiver of interest during the period. In this situation, any financial institution will agree to it as they know that no one will be able to repay in the present circumstances,” he said.

“Only money lenders can make more money by this facility, not businesses. We need financial aid to rebuild businesses,” he added.

Jayachandran felt that the insurance coverage has to be extended for at least one year. “Since it is a global issue, the demand in a sector like a tourism may not come back in the next 8-10 months, if not more,” he noted.