COVID-19 took away 2 crore jobs in tourism sector: Minister

More than two crore people, involved in the tourism industry, have lost their jobs due to the three waves of COVID-19 that first hit the country in early 2020, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Monday (March 14).

Reddy said tourist arrivals in the country were down by 93 percent during the first wave of COVID-19 outbreak, 79 percent in the second wave and 64 percent during the third wave.

“We have conducted a study on the impact of the pandemic on tourism. As per the study, there were 14.5 million job losses during the first wave, 5.2 million job losses in the second wave and 1.8 million job losses in the third wave,” he said in Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

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Reddy said 38 million people were involved with the tourism industry in the country before the pandemic hit the country.

The minister said the tourism economy was down significantly during the three waves of coronavirus, which hit this sector badly not only in India but across the globe.

The minister, however, said with the administering of 180 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the government was hopeful that there would be improvements in the tourism sector.

To help this sector, Reddy said, an interest-free loan of Rs 10 lakh is given to travel and tourism stakeholders and up to Rs 1 lakh to tourist guides.

“I appeal to all state governments to help the tourism sector in whatever way they can,” he said. The minister said due to the pro-tourists initiatives of the Narendra Modi government, India’s rank in global tourist destinations has gone up by about 20 positions from 52 in 2013 to 32 in 2019.

To encourage more international tourists, the government has already decided to waive the visa fee of the first five lakh arrivals, he said, adding that after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, till March 7, 2022, as many as 51,960 regular visas and 1.57 e-visas were given by India.

Replying to a question by National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, who said that there should be control over air fare as travelling has become costly, affecting tourism industry, Reddy said the government has deliberated upon the issue and has been giving subsidy to the airfares under the Udan scheme to the airlines flying to tourist destinations.

Abdullah also urged the minister to restart the Srinagar-Sharjah flight as early as possible.

(With inputs from agencies)