Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 27 July 2021
Tourism Industry is the largest private-sector employer in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Thousands of individuals in Andaman and Nicobar Islands are directly employed in some or the other form in the Tourism Industry, further, the industry also has an influence on almost all the businesses being operated in the Islands.
COVID-19 pandemic forced the A & N Administration to close the tourism in the Islands not once but twice in the last two years. The stakeholders of the tourism industry have suffered massive losses and have lost their only source of income.
Hundreds of hotels, resorts, lodges have mushroomed all over South Andaman District in the last five years and the residents of Andaman and Nicobar Islands have invested hundreds of crores in the growing tourism industry of the Islands.
Apart from physical infrastructure people have invested in vehicles, boats, restaurants and many other businesses to reap the benefits of the growing brand Andaman. The majority of the investments made was facilitated through bank loans and with help of finance from friends and family.
The quantum of investment made in the industry has now become a problem for many residents as they are not able to pay the instalments of their bank loans. Apart from the residents who have invested in the tourism sector, there are thousands of residents of the Islands who work in these tourism establishments.
These employees who work in the tourism establishments are the ones who are suffering a lot since they have no way of sustaining their livelihood, their families are suffering because their income has stopped but they still have to pay their bills as usual.
Many youngsters have come out and have publicly spoken up on the problems being faced by them because the tourism industry has been kept shut by Andaman and Nicobar Administration.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands is located far away from mainland India and the Islands have very limited medical infrastructure, in case of a widespread outbreak of COVID-19 in the Islands, it would become very difficult for the Administration to control the situation and save the lives of the Islanders.
As tourists can enter the Islands with COVID-19 undetected in the tests and can infect the Islanders, the contention of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration to keep the tourism closed for the time being is not completely wrong.
However, the sufferings of the Islanders who are directly and indirectly dependent on tourism also cannot be ignored. People need to earn their livelihood in order to pay their bills and maintain their families.
The youngsters who have come out recently with their concerns and problems because of the tourism industry being kept closed, needs to be taken positively by the officers of Andaman and Nicobar Administration.
Tourism being the largest private-sector employer of the Islands needs to be opened immediately so that the Islanders can start earning their livelihood. Andaman and Nicobar Administration should formulate SOPs to be followed by the stakeholders of the industry and the tourists visiting the Islands so that the chances of the infection is minimised.
Opening up the Islands for tourism will help thousands of Islanders in earning their livelihood. During these times of COVID-19 there is a constant battle between life and livelihood but none can win until COVID is defeated.