Houseboats need to reduce pricing to survive: Sreekumar

There is an imminent need for pricing to be cut down for the houseboat industry to survive. Pricing should be kept under check till at least December. In an interview, Sreekumar, Director of Sree Tours, Kumarakom, says certification should be provided to all boats depending on the hygiene standards. The government should look to provide a year-long tax holiday for tour packages, he adds. Excerpts:

Q: The houseboat industry is going through probably its worst ever phase. Did you think that the crisis would end up having such a devastating effect on the industry?

A: Yes, it’s going to be more damaging for us than a hotel or a home stay. As you know the houseboat needs regular maintenance, I mean, if it’s not working even for a week, insects and fungus start living in the boat and it costs a lot to get the boat back into its previous state. Even the inverter battery which supports power during the day is going to be damaged due to non-charging. Therefore, getting it back operationally is always going to result in a huge expense.

Q: What kind of losses do you think the industry will end up with, for the year?

A: If we consider the number of boats in operation, we can calculate the industry loss. Alleppey has over 1000 (licensed 780, others 250) and Kumarakom 120. Around 65% of the boats are in operation around the year. If you calculate the average gross collection of Rs 20,000 per boat, the industry is in a loss of Rs 1.3 crores in Alleppey and 15.6 lakhs in Kumarakom per day.

Q: What do you think are the steps that the industry can take to minimise the damage caused?

A: I do not think we can do anything to overcome the loss. This can be overcome only by getting the required number of bookings.

Q: What kind of support do you expect from the governments?

There are many things the government can do for the future. In China, it started mid-September , got identified by November, then they informed the WHO during December and now in March, it started reducing. If you consider the present situation of EU nations, it’s clear that it will be difficult for them to control this in six months.

India locked down early as compared to other EU nations. So in my opinion, even if everything goes well, this will be over only by June– July. It may take another 5-6 months, or may be more for the tourism sector to bounce back as you need to consider that even common men who goes on budget tours need money. When a family is considering a budget allocation, tourism is the last option after every requirement is fulfilled. So in my opinion, this year, we may not have many inbound tours but there will be domestic travelers.

Q: Can you please talk through the threat of job losses in the sector? How do you plan to address this issue?

A: Each boat employs a minimum of three staff members. Total staff working in Alleppey and Kumarakom approximately is around 3500-3800 persons. Houseboat owners have already laid off employees except one or two staff who stay there to look after the boat. Owners’ association has not taken any concrete steps to address the issue. During and after the flood, most of the houseboat operators laid off people and were running the boats on temporary staff arrangements. You also need to consider two types of boats in this field. The luxury segment is operated by Spice Route, Lakes and Lagoon, Blue Jelly, Lake View Houseboat, Smart houseboat, Punnamada houseboat and Muthoot. When all others had suspended or removed all the staff from the boat after the first and second floods, these luxury segment owners did not lay off employees. Even my boat staff are still there employed. Therefore, it’s up to the owners to think about the future of the workers or how you will manage the present crisis. As always, Lake View Houseboat is providing full salary to the staff even during the lock down period.

Q: How long do you think it will take for the industry to revive the interest of the tourists? In what way can the industry win back the confidence of the guests?

A: In my opinion, the government needs to look at providing tour operators a tax holiday both for the outbound or inbound tours for minimum of one year or till March 2021. To support the domestic travelers, some income tax concession should be provided for those producing authorized travel bills on package tours (not on airfare) irrespective of any particular destination or state. Reduction in jet fuel tax can be though about, so that air fare will come down. Reduction in hotel and restaurant tax can be another move. Minimum of 1.5 lakh soft loan for government employees against an interest rate of 2-5% or max 7% for one year. The money should not be handed over in advance but paid against an authorized tour operators tour package bill.

Q: Will the industry need to recalibrate the rooms rates and other charges, once the COVID-19 scare disappears? What changes do you expect to see?

A: All the stake holders of this industry like hotels, home stays, houseboats etc should reduce the pricing till at least December 31. There should not be any peak time or Diwali hikes. These prices need to be advertised more than what we used do earlier.

Q: What new offerings can guests expect from the houseboat sector, once normal services resume? Will the industry be the same again?

A: Reduce the price as low as possible. This will be more than enough. I’m sure the industry will come back to shape in less than a year.

Q: The virus has put the spotlight on health and hygiene. From that perspective, the houseboat industry needs to gear up for the new standards. Please comment.

A: The government needs to intervene strictly in the houseboat sector. First, they must urgently classify all the boats and classification certificate should be placed inside the boats. Need to conduct training classes to the workers about neatness and cleanliness, behaving with the guests etc. Conduct classes for workers and issue certificates. This will help the industry a lot.