Travel & Hospitality sector hopes this is not the beginning of another setback

The travel and hospitality industry is hoping that a new Coronavirus variant of concern and developments such as the government's decision to review the move to relax international travel curbs, new inter state guidelines, rising Covid-19 cases in some countries in Europe and subsequent lockdowns will not upend the promising recovery made so far.

"The world is in a state of flux and nobody knows what's going to happen. Nothing indicates bookings will fall for now, but no one knows what this is going to do. We will probably get more clarity in a week. We are also awaiting more details from the government," said the chief executive of one of the Indian hotel chains that bore the brunt of the panic triggered in the stock market on Friday following fears of the new Omicron variant and fresh travel curbs.

While travelers are not panicking or cancelling bookings just yet, the situation is dynamic and companies are seeking more clarity, industry insiders said.


"I think the government is still deliberating on the decision (on international flights) and we have not heard anything officially on the matter. We are hearing that people from certain countries might need to follow more stringent rules and protocols. It will be almost two years and people would be reluctant to cancel trips now. I don't think countries are going to shut borders indiscriminately. People are not cancelling plans just yet. We are all waiting and watching," said Jyoti Mayal, president of the Travel Agents Association of India(TAAI) that had been appealing to the government to resume scheduled commercial international flights.

Following prime minister Narendra Modi’s directions to review plans of easing international travel curbs on Saturday, the @PIBHomeAffairs account tweeted on Sunday that the decision on the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services will be reviewed as per ‘evolving global scenario’.

“Closer watch on emerging pandemic situation within the country will be maintained,” the tweet further stated. On Friday, India had announced the resumption of regular international flights starting December 15 for the ‘not at risk’ countries.

Besides the UK, more countries such as Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Hong Kong have detected the B.1.1.529 Omicron variant.

Indian states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra have issued new guidelines following concerns.

Rajiv Mehra, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) stated that the association is with the government on the issue of health and safety of the countrymen, however, banning flights is not the solution. "We can increase the screening at the airports, and anybody found infected after testing should be quarantined. The thrust should be on having fully vaccinated people travel and within our country too, we should raise the vaccination percentage,” he added.

Prashant Pitti, co-founder of EaseMyTrip said while the platform has not seen an impact on bookings so far, the emergence of a new variant can pose a serious threat to the sector. "Covid-19 severely impacted the travel industry and everything was at a standstill. We are getting some queries from customers on the new variant and their flight bookings. We need to wait and watch," he added.

Pradeep Shetty, joint honorary secretary, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) said a full fledged recovery of the sector is dependent on international travel resuming and the developments will impede the revival process.

“Resumption of international travel was what everybody was looking up to. A significant chunk of the sector depends on that. With that coming under a cloud, the recovery timelines will be uncertain,” he added.

MakeMyTrip did not respond to an email seeking comments on traveler queries and how the developments were impacting bookings. Thomas Cook declined to comment. Visa processing firm VFS Global said since these were unfolding developments with health experts accessing the situation, it will decline to comment.