Hospitality sector in the Nilgiris may see 70% slide in revenue

Lockdown coincided with peak season for tourism

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the tourism industry in the Nilgiris, with hotel owners estimating that they may lose up to 70% of their average annual revenue in 2020 as the district has remained closed to tourists since mid-March.

As the lockdown coincided with the April-May period, which is normally the peak season for tourism, the pandemic has had a tremendous impact on local businesses, particularly those in the hospitality sector.

District Tourism Officer M. Abarajitham said that between April and June, an average of five to six lakh people visit the district each month.

According to Sivasubramaniam Samraj, Joint Director of Horticulture, Nilgiris district, nearly 1.5 lakh people visit the Government Botanical Garden during the five-day annual flower show. A vast majority of these tourists also visit other parks and gardens run by the Horticulture Department, including the Rose Garden and the Sims Park.

The closure of the district’s borders has translated to lost revenue for the government as well as private businesses like hotels, restaurants and lodges, which usually earn a majority of their revenue during the summer season and the “second season” in November and December.

N. Chandrashekar, honorary secretary of the Nilgiri Hotel and Restaurant Association (NHRA), said that the livelihoods of 80,000 to 1,00,000 people were linked to the fortunes of hotels and restaurants operating in the district. “Such has been the impact that many hotel and restaurant owners are finding it difficult to pay salaries and maintenance costs and repay creditors. This is an extremely challenging time for many people in the industry, and things will start improving only when the district opens up to tourism once again,” he said.

“Businesses connected with the tourism industry are highly dependent on the summer season for revenue generation to meet operational costs for the rest of the year,” Mr. Abarajitham said.

Many other businesses are also dependent on the tourism industry. “There are thousands of taxi and bus tour operators, around 200 tourist guides, and many small business owners and even street vendors who are dependent on the tourism industry to sustain their livelihoods,” he added.

The Tourism Department and hotel owners expect the pandemic’s impact to continue well into the next year.

“In the past, even minor incidents like landslips or rain reported by the media have led to a reduction in the number of tourists visiting the Nilgiris. So the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue till some semblance of normalcy and stability returns,” Mr. Abarajitham said. Nonetheless, he expressed hope that tourists would soon return to the Nilgiris due to the low rate of infection here, with only 14 cases having been reported till date.

“We hope and expect that the district will be reopened soon, so that we can recover some of the losses during the second season,” said N. Chandrashekar from NHRA.