Tour operators hit as people cancel trips

Tour operators hit as people cancel trips

Devanathan.Veerappan@timesgroup.com

Madurai:20.04.2021

Tour operators in Madurai are witnessing large-scale cancellation of trips following the second Covid-19 wave. Operators say that this comes at a time when domestic tourism just started picking up demand.

There are around 50 tour operators in Madurai district, who handle organized trips to domestic and foreign locations. All sorts of tours including leisure, medical and corporate have come down ever since the pandemic broke out.

Domestic tourism started picking up a few months ago after states relaxed restrictions and normalcy returned. People from southern districts were planning tours for recreation to destinations such as Kashmir, Goa and north eastern states this summer. But they have started cancelling them as Covid-19 cases are touching new heights.

“Our members had a considerable number of bookings to destinations such as Kashmir and a few north east states. But they are receiving requests for cancellations at the last minute,” Forum of Tour Organisers president A Satheesh Kumar said.

“Tourism was the first industry to be affected and will be the last industry to be revived due to Covid-19. Tour operators are struggling to cope with the situation. Air ticket bookings has also come down drastically.

“Many flights are also getting cancelled throughout the nation due to less demand,” he said.

Travel Club president (Madurai) G Raveendran said that tourists from other states who were planning holidays in tourist destinations in southern districts are also cancelling. Apart from tour organisers, hoteliers too are affected. “A prominent hotel in Kodaikanal has seen cancellation of 600 rooms booked for this week alone. Some of the corporate companies, which planned holidays for its employees have cancelled them at the last minute,” he said.

The situation looks grim for international tourism in the next couple of years as business travel abroad has come to a standstill.

However, lakhs of money paid by tour operators in advance for ticketing has been locked up with airline agencies.

“Tour operators are in the midst of financial distress. If the money held by airlines is released, we can get some relief. The Central government should intervene and take measures to get us the money. We do not know when we can make use of it as revival is not in sight for now,” he said.

People from southern districts were planning tours for recreation to destinations such as Kashmir, Goa and north eastern states this summer. But they have started cancelling them as Covid-19 cases are touching new heights