Andhra Pradesh: Hotels get ready to reopen from June 8

Vijayawada: As the hospitality industry is set to resume operations from June 8, the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) released a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure safety during the pandemic on Thursday.

An interactive meeting with stakeholders from hotel industry was organised by APTDC at Haritha Berm Park in Vijayawada.

Addressing the media, tourism minister Muttamsetti Srinivas Rao acknowledged that the state tourism has taken a huge hit during the lockdown period. He said that the state saw up to Rs 30 crore revenue loss. Special chief secretary Rajat Bhargav said that they have provided the SOP to the hospitality industry to ensure the safety of tourists.

“It is the right time to unite and gain back the glory of tourism industry in the state. The state has huge opportunity to experience temple tourism, beach tourism eco tourism for tourists. The tourism department has a good track record of achievements and tourist growth rate of 21% in receiving domestic tourists in 2019,” the tourism minister said.

Officials categorised the SOPs in two parts – one for the guest and the other for the hotel staff. One of the key points in the SOP includes to set up a rapid response team with senior staff to handle Covid-19 preparedness of the establishment.

The guidelines call for conduct of frequent information sessions for the staff on Covid-19 pandemic. The installation of Arogya Setu app has been made mandatory for guests.

All Haritha resorts owned by the state would resume operations and the staff members have been given training to run operations during the pandemic.

District collector A Mohammed Imtiaz said that, in due course, helpline numbers will be shared with Hotel Industry Association. There will be some regulatory action for violating the guidelines and advised stakeholders to strictly follow the guidelines.

Meanwhile, the Visakha Hotel Merchants Association requested the government for support on Thursday and asked that property owners waive 50% of rent till the establishments recover their losses. CSN Raju, association president said that people running lodges, hotels , restaurants and bakeries are not in a position to pay as their businesses were shut during the lockdown.