NEW DELHI: In a virtual meeting with top officials of the ministry of tourism on Saturday, representatives of various tourism associations and industry bodies said relief measures announced by the government till now have failed to address the crises of survival that the Indian tourism, travel and hospitality business are facing as a result of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The industry bodies that interacted with tourism secretary Yogendra Tripathi and DG Tourism Meenakshi Sharma , among others, included the 10 presidents of member associations of Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), the chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Tourism Subcommittees of CII , FICCI , PHDCCI and the Internet Mobile Association.

In their meeting with the industry bodies, the government acknowledged that the travel and tourism industry was among the worst-hit and that there were plans afoot to prioritise relief measures according to need, soon. Tripathi also thanked the tourism industry for their proactive partnering with the government for sharing information and recommendations which were critical for submissions made to the Finance ministry, specially because the tourism industry is highly unorganised and lacks data.

One of the common takeaways from Saturday’s meeting was that there is likely to be a lot of thrust on promoting domestic tourism, in the months to come. The Ministry also said it is using its social media handles to create awareness about the need to stay home during the lockdown and prepare to travel once the world opens up.

