Tourism industry will need a big package: KJ Alphons

Former tourism minister of India, KJ Alphons, has said the industry will need a big package from the Union government to tide over the crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has devastated the global tourism industry, he said, and all stakeholders will have to put their minds together to find a solution.

The Indian tourism industry had generated a gross revenue of $234 billion in 2018, employing 81 million people, said the former minister who had played a critical role for the tourism industry during the first term of the Narendra Modi government.

“Now all that revenue is gone. We need big help from the government. The lower rungs of the industry have been badly affected. The taxi drivers, tour guides and small time tour operators are all in a mess,” he said.

Alphons said he had requested the Centre for a big package, softer loans for industry, deferment of EMI repayments etc. The government has given the country some relief by offering a three month moratorium on EMI repayments. “But we need much more,” he said.

Due to the lock down, the industry is shut and the government has lost revenue as a result. The government is feeding the poor and is looking to control the corona virus spread.

“The tourist industry has brilliant people. We need to sit together and think about the way forward. Let’s all put our brains together and discuss solutions. I’m sure we will win. We shall overcome,” the minister added.