IAAPI seeks to involve ministries

The amusement industry is not amused by shutdown, as its stakeholders led by IAAPI seek advice on how they can involve the different ministries and government authorities to gradually re-open their doors.

Hazel Jain

The 17th webinar conducted by the Indian Association of Amusement Parks & Industries (IAAPI) titled ‘Rebuilding Amusement Industry Post Covid-19’ focused on steps that need to be taken to initiate the process of re-opening amidst the lockdown. Anuj Sarin, Training Chairman, IAAPI, moderated the session that had Vinod
Zutshi, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, answering a few questions by the members.

Some of the questions that Sarin took up during the webinar included steps on getting a letter from the Home Ministry to de-bracket amusement industry from cinemas and entertainment, how indoor amusement centres can promote themselves in Tier-I and II cities, and attracting FDI in the tourism sector. Replying to the last question, Zutshi said the sector is eligible for 100 per cent FDI with a five-year tax holiday on the FDI.

He discussed some of the SOPs that global amusement park companies and attractions such as the ones in Florida and Shanghai have been following since re-opening. This, he said, will be useful for the Indian companies who can then replicate some of these protocols. “Getting guests to keep physical distancing was a bigger challenge for many of these attractions in Florida than taking care of the infrastructure. Our first target should be to get the attractions re-opened. We must convince the government to do this. We must first convince the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home, and the Ministry of Tourism, which is our gateway for all these sectors. We must present our case to them,” Zutshi added.

In the meantime, he said, we must start formulating SOPs and guidelines to be endorsed by the government. “These are some of the action points we must look at in order to get the lockdown lifted. The focus should be on the domestic market. Keeping this in mind, we must analyse data on health safety of destinations where parks are located. Then we must launch a progressive promotional campaign to build consumer confidence about their health safety,” he suggested.

Zutshi also recommended that the amusement industry must be incorporated into the new policy which is still in the draft stage.