New Year 2020: Hospitality Industry in Assam's Guwahati Incurs Losses amid CAA Uproar

Guwahati, December 31, 2019:

Amid the sustained and intensified protests against the amendment of the Citizenship Act in Assam, the hospitality sector in Guwahati, the state's economic hub, has been hit hard on New Year's eve.

ALSO READ: Assam Tourism Loses Rs 1000 Cr amid Protests against ‘CAA’

The Manager of one of leading hotels, upon condition of anonymity, disclosed to Inside Northeast, "We are having a programme on New Year's eve, as usual, but we are taking local sentiments into consideration, and we are not marketing it as mush as we usually do."

The Manager also admits that the enthusiasm of the people to usher in the New Year seems to have dampened amid the protests. "We are having people in, but last year, the craze was more. The hotels are not completely deserted, but the footfall is less", he admits, adding, "It is slow -- the market is slow. We have decided to have the programme, but not in a big way."

ALSO READ: CAA Row: Assam Secretariat Employees Wear Black Clothes & Badges in Protest

Apart from the hospitality sector, the tourism sector in Assam has also seen a massive decline as a result of the protests.

Amid the unrest over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, protests against which continue to rage across the state, it has come to light that the ‘Assam Tourism’ industry has incurred losses amounting to as much as Rs 1000 crores.

According to reports, the losses in December 2019 and January 2020 are expected to amount to as much as Rs 100 cr. This was announced by Assam Tourism Chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah during an interaction with the media earlier today. However, Malla believes that through publicity, the tourism sector can get back up on its feet, and expressed hope that the situation will return to normalcy in February, 2020.

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