Moratorium up, bankruptcy looms

Ravi Gosain, Managing Director, Erco Travels, says that while the moratorium may have been a relief for some while it lasted, with its limit up, travel professionals now face the risk of bankruptcy. Hence, he advises tour operators to look for other business opportunities just as he has, as travel is not going to come back to normal for a year or so more.

Nisha Verma

The COVID-19 pandemic has been surrounded by uncertainty since its very beginning and while it did give a break to those who’d been working for so many years, it soon spread panic among the industry and the world, with people fearing for themselves and their businesses. After all the havoc it caused and the support the industry sought from the Indian government, Ravi Gosain says he was disappointed. “We did not get any support from the government because the spectrum of this pandemic is much bigger. It is not just tourism, but all sectors are in a bad situation except essentials,” he says. Therefore, adds Gosain, he decided to explore and pursue new avenues and opportunities. “I knew from the beginning that if this situation prevailed beyond August, we would need to be prepared for the next few years for travel to come back to a pre-COVID level. I took the challenge and was upskilling myself in finance and was studying. I took up a course on angel investors and venture capitalists. I thought that if I get into investing or consultancy or incubating new start-ups, it will be good. Fortunately, I got an opportunity with a start-up idea and got on board. Now, I have invested in an Agri-tech start-up,” he shares.

Post-moratorium fears

Now that the moratorium has ended and travel firms have to pay EMIs, Gosain feels that immaterial of the size of the company, they may not be in a position to pay even a single bill. “That will be a huge setback. Most of the employees or employers took moratorium, and they were expecting that something will roll out after August. However, we don’t see anything yet. We know that this month will also go away like that and there is not much hope for international flights resuming. I fear that there will be many bankruptcies on a personal level or company level. People will start panicking, as they will have to also pay money back for the last 3-4 months. This is very scary, and I don’t know what plan the government has. They may see people coming out on roads and protesting,” he adds.

Support is must

“We need support from the state,” asserts Gosain, adding, “there is only one ray of hope — many people in the industry are shifting to an alternate profession. It’s not about making money but being engaged in something. If tourism returns, I can come back and run the show.”