Uttarakhand hoteliers seek tax rebates as rains wash out business

Hoteliers in Uttarakhand are staring at heavy losses running into hundreds of cancelled room nights for this month and the next, as flash floods and landslides have damaged roads to popular destinations such as Dehradun, Mussoorie and Kanatal. With zero bookings and no access to roads, they have sought GST rebates for the next six months.

Sanjay Sharma, advisor of the Kanatal Hotel Association, said people cannot reach the hill station because the approach roads from both Chamba and Mussoorie have been cut off due to heavy rains and flash floods. “September is totally washed out and we don’t expect any respite before November,” he said.

“We have had no bookings since July 10 ... hoteliers have incurred severe damages,” he said. “We get business from Gujarat around Diwali when diamond merchants start travelling and there are no forward bookings this year. I have requested the tourism secretary of the state for rebates on state GST for the next six months.”


As many as 350 room nights have been cancelled for this month at the Fern Brentwood Resort in Mussoorie, said general manager Arindam C Bahel at Fern Hotels & Resorts. “Essential supplies are affected. We had groups coming in on the weekend, and as the news spread, we started getting cancellations,” he added.

According to reports, flash floods Monday night triggered by heavy rainfall have submerged houses and an IT park in Dehradun. With as many as 14 bridges damaged, Mussoorie too has been cut off from rest of the state.

“For the next 15 days, nobody will be able to reach us,” said Sharma, who is based in Kanatal.

Strotak Hospitality has 100 room nights cancelled for September and October in Mussoorie, said cofounder Yogita Goyal. The chain has 12 hotels across Dehradun, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, among other locations.

“All three connecting routes to Mussoorie were destroyed and efforts are being made to connect Mussoorie again. We are not seeing any business in Dakpathar,” she said. “Rishikesh is also seeing cancellations. October is the rafting season and that is likely to get delayed now.”

The entire monsoon season has been tough for the state, said Sandeep Sahni, president of the Uttaranchal Hotel Association.

“It’s not just the Char Dham yatra, but Dehradun and Mussoorie have been severely impacted as well. The sector would have seen a revenue loss of 50% year on year this year,” he said. “We are hoping the worst is behind us considering the weather forecast for the coming days. We hope sunny days return in more ways than one.”