BHUBANESWAR: After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector in Odisha is finally looking up but if stakeholders in the industry are to be believed, they are not confident of handling the traffic tourism season (September to February) might bring this year.
Reason: Massive loss of trained manpower during the three waves of pandemic as some put the figure at over 50 per cent.
From travel agents, tour executives to guides, cooks to waiters, many quit their jobs in last two years when the pandemic brought the seasonal tourism business to a standstill. A majority of them shifted to other sectors to eke out a living. Although the tourism industry is reviving now, not many are sure if they want to return.
Sanatan Sahoo who was a guide for international tourists in the State Capital for the last 24 years and opened his own tour agency now runs a fast food stall in the city for survival. "Guides were the worst hit. Tourist footfall decreased dramatically and none of us got any bookings. Since people had to feed their families, they shifted to other avocations. Some opened paan shops, vegetable shops, others put up food stalls on the road," he said
According to reports of the Tourism department, Odisha had received around 46 lakh tourists in 2020 - a drop of 69.9 per cent compared to 2019 - and the number was 37.4 lakh in 2021, a drop of 19.16 per cent compared to 2020.
Members of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said since the travel and tourism industry is primarily unorganised, getting the exact data on manpower loss is not possible. "But I can safely say that there is a loss of around 60 percent of qualified and trained manpower in the industry. Almost all the tour agencies in the State (around 34 under IATO) now manage their operations with just one or two trained professionals. The crisis cannot be felt right now but from September onwards when we start getting business, it will be very difficult to manage," said Gagan Sarangi, chairman of IATO Odisha chapter.
The situation is equally grim when it comes to hotels and restaurants. Hotel and Restaurants Association of Odisha (HRAO) chairman JK Mohanty said the facilities within the association have lost around 40-45 percent of manpower.
"Everything is open now and international flights have resumed but we are not sure if the professionals would return. Revenue of hotels and restaurants is still substantially less due to low occupancy level of hotels across Odisha except Puri. Besides, there is fear of a fourth wave which may again hit the sector," Mohanty said.
According to HRAO reports, for instance, Bhubaneswar's Patia region had around 400 hotels pre-Covid but half of them have been closed down.
Both IATO (Odisha) and HRAO office bearers said although they have written to the State government on several occasions in the last two years seeking help to tide over this crisis, no concrete measures have been taken yet. Efforts to contact higher officials of the Tourism department yielded no response.