These are not very pleasant times for those operating in the
hospitality industry. Sales have slumped due to the anxiety caused by a Covid
variant. And then there are the regulations put in place by the Election
Commission’s code of conduct which is put in place for holding the Assembly
elections smoothly. The last two years have been a traumatic experience for the
entire industry. Hotels have been sold, restaurants have shut down and others
have struggled to stay afloat. Now in this third wave and in the period when
the code of conduct is in place how are they faring.
Ryan Rodrigues who has a hotel and
restaurant in Anjuna said the regulations were standard practice in the run up
to the elections. It was the protocol which had to be followed and it came up
every five years. Business he admitted had slumped due to the variant and there
was nothing that could be done. He said “We are biting a double bullet with the
election and the variant. I have fifty rooms and a restaurant. People are just
not travelling because of the virus. That’s the reality. I suppose business
will improve once the effects of the variant subside and the electoral process
is complete.”
Saurav Parashar who runs an outlet that
specialises in North Eastern food in Mala said they now accepted the last order
at 9.30 and business was certainly affected. He said “Business has dropped by
sixty percent. This month has been really bad. Business in takeaways too has
dropped. Last month we had quite a bit of business from takeaways now that has
gone down too. People are scared to come to the restaurant for fear of falling
sick”. He said they were expecting the liquor license in April after the
elections were completed and he then hoped to extend the time for last orders
by another hour. He hoped by then the variant would be died out and business
could recover from the slump.
Kenneth who runs a very popular bar and
restaurant in Panjim said business had certainly dipped after the festivities
of the New Year had settled down. He said “Goa is known for its night life but
now because of these problems, no one is coming over to the state. The virus
was bad enough and now the elections have made it really tough. It is very sad.
I have had to push my customers out by 11 o clock. At 10.30, I stop people from
entering the restaurant. Many people like to come late around 10.45 and order
food and drink, now that is not possible. I hope the situation improves soon”.
Milind Bhosale who run a restaurant and bar said his business
was down by fifty percent. He said “We shut down our non veg section during the
second wave and did not open it and the veg section is down by fifty percent.
People are just not coming. The virus is creating problems and now the code of
conduct is in place. That is part of our system and it is fine but this has
been a double blow for us. The virus has to go for business to come back.”
Ashish Das the manager of a prominent restaurant based in
Fontainhas said business had slumped by over sixty percent forcing them to
reduce staff. He said with fifty percent seating it was difficult to maintain a
balance. They were not even doing deliveries which meant they were hit really
badly.
Savio Messias who is an hotelier said the industry was
struggling to survive. He said “Both hotels and restaurants depend on tourists
and the drop in occupancy means they are struggling to survive. This means no
business for the restaurants. I know of hoteliers who are talking of zero to
ten percent in occupancy. I am suffering too. Add to all this, the restrictions
at night. Soon the flying squad and the election personnel will commence their
harassment. Last time when people were eating they were shooed out of a
restaurant in Miramar. I don’t see anything improving till the elections is
done. We now have to close the bar at 10clock. There are changes every year.
Last time, I know wholesalers shut shop and went on a holiday. Many shops were
sealed. The industry has to suffer because some politicians distribute liquor”.
Chetan Anand who runs an outlet in Morjim said business had been
affected and that was largely due to the variant but with regards the code of
conduct, it was not the first time, he was experiencing it. He said “It always
seems too come during the season and the authorities understand but that’s what
it is. I have been hit by twenty percent but I have my deliveries going on till
one o clock. We stop serving alcohol at 10 clock.”
It
is not a happy situation and one can only hope the effect of the variant
subsides and the elections are conducted smoothly.
