Hotels prepare to re-open, 50% may shut permanently

Mumbai, July 6 With hotels and restaurants preparing to reopen for business after nearly four months, the prospects of around 50 per cent of them shutting permanently also loom large, top players warn.

The Centre has indicated July 8 as the target date for the hospitality industry to throw open its doors to guests and patrons, but there is no clear signal yet from the Maharashtra government.

"The situation is bad and getting desperate daily. Till June 30, the hospitality industry piled up around Rs 1.25 lakh crore losses. Many hotels and hospitality chains have expressed inability to continue operating partially or fully," Gurbaxish Kohli, Vice-President of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, told .

"The proposed reopening is welcome but delayed. Initially, around 35 per cent of the industry will shut and by the year-end, this could go up to 50 per cent," an equally worried Indian Hotel & Restaurant Association President Shivanand D. Shetty told .

Both rue that despite the hospitality sector contributing 10 per cent to the national gross domestic product

( With inputs from IANS )