|
Government
aid will help the industry to cater to its clientele. The
hospitality industry has been badly hit after the Mumbai
terror attacks, Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western
Region) President S P Jain told reporters here on
Thursday.
Number
of foreign tourists visiting India and particularly Mumbai
has considerably come down and the occupancy percentage in
various hotels has also reduced drastically, Jain said.
Nearly
100 restaurants have closed down in Mumbai alone due to
the high impact of VAT charges, he said.
The
electricity rate charged on hotels and restaurants is at
the commercial rate of 13 per cent in Maharashtra, as
against six per cent levied on industrial units. Hence, it
is essential that a parity is brought about, he added.
Hotel
industry is also one of the largest industry which
provides employment to large section of the society, he
said.
The
HRA also demanded that government should change its
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) policy so that more hotels
can come near coastal zones especially in Maharashtra and
Gujarat, Jain added.
Source
: Hindu - Chennai, India, dated 29/01/2009
|
