The hotel industry in Agra, which has been hit due to nationwide lockdown over coronavirus crisis, has been forced to ponder upon the changed circumstances.
In a webinar on the challenges posed by Covid-19 on the hotel industry, entertainment industry leader Guru Swarup Srivastava said that virtual marriages have become the latest trend during the lockdown. This trend could prove to be a “boon” for the hotel industry.Inder Chand Jain, Managing Director of The Palm Court, said that in the changed scenario, the onus is upon the hotels to ensure the safety of the guests. The hotels will also have to bring new and attractive packages for the guests if they have to survive in this new world.
Hotel Radisson General Manager Vibhav Sagar told IndiaToday.in that the hotel has already adopted international hygiene standards for the guests who will be staying at the hotel from now on. Sagar said the hotel is ready to face any challenges.
Hotel Ramada Plaza General Manager Lokesh Upadhyay said that the hotel industry will have to move forward with a service level agreement. “The guests will need to be informed in advance about the level of services being offered to them,” Lokesh Upadhyay said.Rishi Bhatnagar, Vice President Jaypee Hotel, said that the first priority should be to win back the trust of the guests and the clients should feel that they are staying in a safe hotel. “The hotel industry will have to become serious about this aspect,” Bhatnagar said.
Vivek Mahajan of the Hotel Crystal Sarovar said that the “Covid Manager will be a new post and the staff will have to be trained for it. The service industry players from vending, planning and MICE will have to be brought on one platform to ensure cooperation between them.”
Commenting on the points discussed by the hotel industry, Vishal Sharma, secretary of the Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber, said that the hotel industry has taken the right step to initiate a discussion on the future of the industry.
“But the final cards are still in the hands of the government which is yet to come out with the post-lockdown guidelines for various industries,” Vishal Sharma said.
Sharma said that since the Taj Mahal is still closed and is likely to remain closed for some more time till the government comes up with a policy on regulating traffic in places of public access, there was very little possibility of tourists visiting the city and night stay was simply out of question. In the absence of clear policy guidelines, it will be too early to predict a path that the tourism business should take.
Sharma said that the tourism industry of Agra is going through an “extremely bad phase and the business is not likely to recover anytime soon”.”The industry leaders will have to sit together with the union tourism minister and formulate a policy to revive tourism not only in Agra but the entire country,” Sharma said.
