There is a reason why businesses pay close attention to the Union Budget – it gives them the blueprint to map their spending and determine how to save money in the bargain. For a long time, the hospitality industry felt that it had received little attention from the Finance Minister.
After battling three back-to-back waves of COVID-19, which had almost flattened their revenues, this time around, they hope that Nirmala Sitharaman will announce some measures to balance these inequities on 1st February. Akhil Arora, COO, Espire Group – Hospitality Division, tells Vinita Bhatia what is on the sector’s wishlist as stakeholders try to recover lost ground.
What short-term revival measures can the government consider can announce to prop up the beleaguered hospitality and travel industry?
Short term revival measures, frankly, are not going to be very beneficial. The industry needs medium-term and long-term support in two critical areas to have a conducive environment for businesses to sustain. Firstly, measures must be undertaken to promote travel once the situation improves by giving relaxation on taxes, marketing the domestic destinations, as well as accelerating the completion of ongoing travel infrastructure projects.
Secondly, we would expect the government to offer increased us flexibility for loan and interest repayments. In the past two waves, unfortunately, not many measures have been introduced, but we really hope that such relief packages are considered this time for an early revival of the hospitality industry. These two measures can go a long way in propping the industry.
What kind of targeted credit support can the Finance Minister extend to hotel companies in her Budget announcements?
The industry’s biggest ask is straightforward. We seek lower interest rates for capital requirements for a stipulated period. Our industry has been significantly impacted by the pandemic and decline in travel in the last two years. With the new wave affecting us now, an additional six months of loan repayment waiver must be considered.
Will the Budget announcements impact your company’s asset monetisation plans, including raising capital to accelerate infrastructure investments?
We are not seeking any additional capital from the market and will only be looking at relaxation measures for our existing assets through this budget announcement.
