Hotels and restaurants in Bengal are hoping for state support through tax waivers as the industry grapples with the cancellation of rooms, conferences, social events and gatherings amid concerns over the fast-spreading coronavirus.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) has written to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday citing financial problems faced by the sector and urging the state government to consider tax concessions for the current financial year.

“Many of our members have reported cancellations reaching a critical stage of 90-95 per cent and forward bookings, which could have helped, have become negligible with the news of the disease spreading globally.

“Meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE), wedding tourism, medical and wellness sector have been severely affected,” said Sudesh Poddar, honorary secretary of HRAEI.

He added that the hospitality industry needs working capital and both large establishments as well as budget hotels and restaurants have to pay advance tax and GST. Moreover, many establishments need business to run as usual to repay bank credit as well.

“The industry is also a labour intensive one and is the biggest employment generator of both direct and indirect jobs. Therefore, the industry has to take care of a large number of employees.

“In addition, a lot of hoteliers have taken loans to construct and run their establishments. Adhering to repayment deadlines seems an onerous task,” said Poddar.

While hotels in Calcutta are operating at low occupancies, those in the popular tourist destinations such as Darjeeling are contemplating closure on account of no business. Restaurants, however, are not immediately considering any closure despite a fall in sales.