India's tourism sector will continue to struggle despite last week's reopening of the historic Taj Mahal and other top attractions as part of the country's ongoing efforts to kick-start the economy, according to industry experts.
With international tourism into the country still largely restricted, and even Indian citizens put off travel because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the slowdown in the sector will be more prolonged than previously forecast, analysts predict.
“Because of this pandemic, people aren't even prepared to travel within the country,” says Ankit Singh, the founder of Extra Edge Travels, a New Delhi-based company that offers tours in India and abroad. “It's almost like this industry has come to a halt now. We've been impacted financially and we had to issue some refunds out of our own pocket.”
Despite the reopening of the 17th-century Taj Mahal and other tourist attractions, coronavirus infections continue to surge in India. On Saturday, India's total confirmed Covid-19 cases crossed 5.9 million after more than 85,000 new infections were added in 24 hours, according to government data.
According to a report released this month by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the travel and tourism industry is expected to lose a total of $65.57 billion (Dh240.8bn) as a result of the pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic has given a crippling blow to the Indian travel and tourism industry,” CII says in the report.
“The shutdown and slowdown, which was initially expected to affect revenue streams until October, have now indicated otherwise and it will be far more prolonged than the sector had earlier anticipated.”
Hotels in India are only likely to be able to achieve an occupancy level of 30 per cent until the start of next year, according to CII, which adds that revenue streams are likely to be eroded by 80 to 85 per cent.
“The figures are quite alarming and the industry needs immediate measures for survival,” CII says.
Because of this pandemic, people aren't even prepared to travel within the country.
The travel and tourism industry in India makes up 9.2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product and employs 8.1 per cent of the population, its figures reveal.
In a report released in June, Grant Thornton in India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) forecast that there could be more than 40 direct and indirect million job losses in the travel and tourism sector.
The latest data available from India's Ministry of Tourism shows that the country received 10.56 million overseas tourists in 2018, which generated $28.59bn in foreign exchange earnings. Two of India's biggest source markets for tourists are the United States and the United Kingdom, which are also struggling to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
At the beginning of the government-imposed lockdown in March, which closed hotels and brought commercial flights to a standstill, “We fell of the cliff there and we were completely locked out for two months, as was the rest of the country", Vibhas Prasad, director of Leisure Hotels Group, says.
With limited flights within India restarted in May and the government permitting hotels to open in June, Mr Prasad says the company, which has 27 properties in India, including in the states of Uttarakhand, Goa and Himachal Pradesh, was up and running again within a matter of days.
But he says occupancies have remained low because of strict requirements imposed by individual states, which, for example, require domestic travellers entering from another state to have a Covid-19 test and to enter quarantine for up to 14 days.
There is still no clarity on when commercial international flights will reopen for India – beyond limited "air bubble" agreements with certain countries, including the UAE, which allows essential workers and Indians to travel into the country.
Within India, restrictions are steadily being relaxed and the peak festive travel season is approaching. But hoteliers fear there will not be a rush of domestic travellers given the spread of the virus and low consumer confidence as people are concerned about their jobs.
“We do expect some pent-up demand to materialise,” says Mr Prasad. “So from virtually a 5 per cent occupancy, we are hoping in another month's time we'll be at a 20 to 25 per cent occupancy.”
“This is nothing to look forward to in the short term, but this occupancy will perhaps lead us to operational break even, so we'd not be haemorrhaging money on a monthly basis."
Hoteliers have also faced the challenge of having to adapt to the crisis to reassure travellers they are safe and meet government requirements, including investing in sanitisation equipment and training staff in the necessary hygiene procedures.
This comes as hotels are also seeing a sharp drop in room rates.
“Room rates are down by 50 per cent – that's across the whole market,” says Ankur Bhatia, executive director of Bird Group, an Indian travel and hospitality company that operates a chain of luxury hotels.
Like Mr Bhatia, many are hoping that domestic travel could at least partially help to revive the sector, as they turn their focus from abroad to the major market on their doorstep.
The number of domestic tourism trips in India totalled more than 1.85 billion in 2018, according to the country's Ministry of Tourism.
Now, with Indians unable to freely travel overseas, for many the only option is domestic travel.
This is nothing to look forward to in the short term, but this occupancy will perhaps lead us to operational break even, so we'd not be haemorrhaging money on a monthly basis.
“My hotels in Delhi are doing 80 to 90 per cent occupancy over the weekends, and these are people who are citizens of Delhi who want to have a respite and they're checking in for a staycation to take a little break without getting into the hassle of moving from one state to another or taking a flight,” says Mr Bhatia.
Many hoteliers say their marketing focus is on targeting potential customers who are within reasonable driving distance of their properties, with an expected increase in demand as lockdown restrictions continue to ease.
“Domestic travel has a huge scope for [the] Indian travel industry post-lockdown,” says Shalini Raj, founder of travel consultancy Journey Weavers. “The country has numerous tourist destinations ranging across mountain tourism, cultural tourism, wildlife tourism, adventure tourism and heritage tourism.”
But with a slow recovery expected, many industry insiders lament that there has not been a bailout package specifically for the travel and tourism sector.
The government has, however, launched some measures to help various sectors, including a moratorium on loans from the Reserve Bank of India until August 31 and a package from the government backing loans for small- and medium-sized businesses.
“There are a lot of livelihoods involved, so this industry is very critical,” says Anirban Chakraborty, managing director and chief executive of Tourism Finance Corporation of India.
He says there are several finance options to “tide over” companies in the sector with liquidity, which they are taking advantage of as they need working capital in the current environment just to stay afloat, as expansion plans are largely put on hold.
Mr Chakraborty says the tourism industry could play a major role in reviving India's economy and he expects domestic tourism to bounce back strongly next year.
“People will travel much more in domestic tourism locations in India rather than going abroad, which is quite economical also. There's a strong middle-class bracket.”
But all hopes for the industry are now resting on a Covid-19 vaccine.
Until then, a meaningful recovery looks difficult – even for domestic travel.
“We're looking forward to the vaccine,” says Mr Prasad. “People will be more comfortable travelling. We stopped being in denial mode a long time back. We realised that we can't expect inbound travellers to come in, in large numbers at least, for the next year or so.”
How it works
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
Saturday results
Qatar beat Kuwait by 26 runs
Bahrain beat Maldives by six wickets
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by seven wickets
Monday fixtures
Maldives v Qatar
Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
Bahrain v UAE
* The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
MATCH INFO
Leeds United 0
Brighton 1 (Maupay 17')
Man of the match: Ben White (Brighton)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Schedule for show courts
Centre Court - from 4pm UAE time
Johanna Konta (6) v Donna Vekic
Andy Murray (1) v Dustin Brown
Rafael Nadal (4) v Donald Young
Court 1 - from 4pm UAE time
Kei Nishikori (9) v Sergiy Stakhovsky
Qiang Wang v Venus Williams (10)
Beatriz Haddad Maia v Simona Halep (2)
Court 2 - from 2.30pm
Heather Watson v Anastasija Sevastova (18)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) v Simone Bolelli
Florian Mayer v Marin Cilic (7)
Jebel Ali card
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
The National selections
1.45pm: Cosmic Glow
2.15pm: Karaginsky
2.45pm: Welcome Surprise
3.15pm: Taamol
3.45pm: Rayig
4.15pm: Chiefdom
4.45pm: California Jumbo
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
The view from The National
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%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-cylinder%2C%204.8-litre%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E280%20brake%20horsepower%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E451Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh153%2C00%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
more from Janine di Giovanni
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1
Calvin Harris
Columbia
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
Ireland (15-1):
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
Key fixtures from January 5-7
Watford v Bristol City
Liverpool v Everton
Brighton v Crystal Palace
Bournemouth v AFC Fylde or Wigan
Coventry v Stoke City
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Manchester United v Derby
Forest Green or Exeter v West Brom
Tottenham v AFC Wimbledon
Fleetwood or Hereford v Leicester City
Manchester City v Burnley
Shrewsbury v West Ham United
Wolves v Swansea City
Newcastle United v Luton Town
Fulham v Southampton
Norwich City v Chelsea
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Play-off fixtures
Two-legged ties to be played November 9-11 and November 12-14
- Northern Ireland v Switzerland
- Croatia v Greece
- Denmark v Ireland
- Sweden v Italy
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
