Maharashtra hotels to reopen, 50% may shut for good

Mumbai, July 6 With hotels and restaurants preparing to reopen 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.

"The situation is bad and getting desperate every day. 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, it could go up to 50 per cent," Indian Hotel & Restaurant Association President Shivanand D. Shetty told .

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

( With inputs from IANS )