“After remaining closed for over five months since March 22, hoteliers unanimously decided in the meeting to open from October 1. Till then, we shall make all the arrangements and preparations to provide tourists with high standards of hygiene and sanitization. We will also recruit staff by then,” Manali Hoteliers’ Association president Anup Ram Thakur said.
Realizing that recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic may take more time than expected, the hoteliers said they cannot afford to stay closed anymore. However, they are not in a hurry and do not want to take a risk and decided that they will remain closed in September to get themselves ready to welcome tourists in October. Not just hotels, the guesthouses and homestay units will make necessary arrangements to resume operations in October.
It was also decided that if any hotel wishes to remain closed even after October, nobody will force it to open. Thousands of staff members working in hotels had temporarily or permanently lost their jobs in March and April. Finding and recruiting both skilled and unskilled staff in a few days was not easy.
Thakur said hoteliers will face some challenges in ensuring smooth operations like protecting the staff and local community from Covid-19 and to handle patients if found any, as Manali does not have a dedicated COVID care center. He said tourists will come after proper check-up, but they will have to be ready for any eventuality.
“The hospitality sector is facing a severe financial crisis. This is the time when we have to take bold and intelligent decisions for the welfare of the state where lakhs of people are directly or indirectly dependent on tourism,” he said.
The hoteliers have asked the government to fulfill a few of their demands before they resume operation. Their main demand was to establish a dedicated COVID care center in Manali and to make some changes to the SOPs. They said the government had prepared SOPs in accordance with large hotels while most of the hotels are small and based in the rural areas. They requested the government to form a team of specialist members who should visit the villagers to take feedback to re-issue the SOP.
News Courtesy: ET
