JAIPUR: The coronavirus crisis has hit the weddings organisers and the related businesses in Rajasthan hard with marriages scheduled for October-December, the peak season, are also getting cancelled.
Speaking to IANS, Bhupendra Panwar, regional director (sales and marketing) of a wedding organiser in the city, said, "The peak season starts in October and concludes in March. Bookings are made by clients from different parts of the world. But due to the coronavirus crisis, all bookings have been cancelled."
Elaborating, he said, "While 80 per cent of our bookings have been cancelled, status of 20 per cent is not known. These 20 per cent clients have just gone silent. They are not even reverting to our calls. Thus, as of now, we have no wedding bookings."
In Rajasthan, Akha Teej, which falls on April 26 this year, is a big wedding day as it's considered auspicious. With everything shut, there is not even flicker of hope for the wedding industry.
Panwar said the industry had gone two decades back in terms of business and would have to make a fresh start as and when coronavirus clouds were dispersed.
On the estimated losses in terms of revenue, he said, "I don't want to bring in negativity in the industry and thus can't share the figures. But it's quite large. We have come to zero as not only the wedding market has crumbled, but also the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibition).
Dashrath Singh, General Manager (Sales, Events, Convention & Conferences), HRH Group of Hotels, said there were no wedding bookings as of now. "Things have come to zero and we shall restart when the lockdown ends to know how to start fresh from ground zero," Singh said.
"We are sitting at our houses. There is nothing in the pipeline. We will have to gear up to start afresh," he said.