It couldn?t get worse for the Indian tourism industry, already reeling under the global economic crisis. The terror attack on the financial capital of India will further deal a blow to the tourism prospects of India, according to the industry stakeholders.
Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to dip as several countries, including the US and the UK, have issued travel advisories cautioning their citizens against travel to Mumbai. While the UK has advised ?against all but essential travel to Mumbai until further notice?, the Warden Message from the US posted on the US Embassy?s official website said ?due to the fluid situation in Mumbai, Americans are urged to defer travel to Mumbai for at least the next 48-72 hours. Those currently in Mumbai are asked to take shelter at their current location and contact family and friends.??
Similar advisories have been issued by countries like France, Italy and Canada. According to officials in the Italian embassy New Delhi, ?We are telling our people to avoid travel to Mumbai due to the terrorist attacks there.? Such advisories have also been issued in the past by countries after terror attacks in the country.
In fact, it is interesting to note that earlier this week, tourism minister Ambika Soni had said she had urged countries to not issue advisories against India as ?they have a permanent and a long lasting impact and should be only used as the last resort.?
On the impact of the attacks on the industry, Leena Nandan, joint secretary, ministry of tourism said, ?By and large, the fall-out of the incident will remain for a couple of days. We have observed over a period of time that after such incidents, local travel gets disturbed, but the situation will soon be normal and under control. We are in touch with the agents and hoteliers are asking them to take stock of their guests and customers?.
What makes the situation worse is the timing of it. The holiday season being round the corner, travel companies fear cancellations in bulk after the incident. According to Rajendra Churiwala, director, IATA Agents Association of India, several cancellations have already happened during the day. ?Even NRIs are canceling their visits, this festive season is turning out to be very bad for the industry,? he said.
Considering the fact that five star hotels have been the target this time around, hoteliers fear a severe blow to their image. Rubal Chaudhry, general manager, The Claridges, said, ?This is going to have a devastating impact on the reputation of the country which is getting an image of an unsafe destination.? Chaudhry added it should return to normal soon. ?The world has seen 9/11 and moved on. So will we,? he said.
?Tourists want to travel to a safe destination and it is unfortunate that such attacks will take away the traveller?s confidence and he will not see India as a safe destination,? said Anil Madhok, managing director, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts. ndustry players say it is too early to quantify the loss the industry may incur. ?There will surely be an impact on the in-bound business,? said Madhavan Menon, managing director, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.
On the kind of losses The Taj and The Trident will incur, a source said, ?The hotels will have to be shut for at least 4-6 weeks for rebuilding the damage and for investigations. The Trident, which mops up a daily revenue of around Rs 15-20 lakh, will see more losses as large monies will have to be spent on repair. Further, since the insurance policy for a building includes compensation paid for losses due to fire, storm, tempest, flood, riot, strike, lighting, landslide, and earthquake, any damages to the structure due to acts of terrorism are excluded unless specifically sought, for which an additional insurance premium is payable.