Indoor services with SOPs be allowed immediately
Staff Reporter Islamabad
The government has not given any relief to the hotel and service industry in the current Covid-19 pandemic.
The hotel industry has borne the burden of 15,000 foreign travellers and temporarily accommodated foreign travelers in its hotels.
These views were expressed by the President of Hotels and Motels Association of Islamabad Rawalpindi and Northern Areas, M. Akram Farid during an emergency meeting.
The spread of the corona virus over the past year has also severely affected the hotel industry, leaving millions of hotel and restaurant workers unemployed and their stoves cold.
Due to the government’s inconsistent policies, this very important sector related to tourism is dying on its own and no department of the government is ready to listen to their grievances.
There is a need for the government and concerned agencies to take sensible steps and take immediate practical steps in this regard.
Mian Farid said that government should give relief package to the hotel industry and create facilities.
He further said that until the Covid-19 epidemic can be controlled, the government should give all tax exemptions on the income of Three star and Four star hotels.
Due to credit sale, sales tax and bed tax are being paid by the hotels out of their pockets. Due to Covid-19, business activities in hotels have been reduced to 30 percent.
Senior Vice President Haji Gul Afridi said that 5 to 6 million people in Pakistan are associated with hotel industry but the government is cracking down on this sector with various measures which are intolerable in all respects.
Vice President Tariq Javed Malik said that tourism sector and hotels are inseparable.
Where Covid-19 has shaken the country’s economy, people have become unemployed but the government has forced the sector to its knees which contributes more to GDP which is not encouraging.
