Due to COVID-19, all of the
sudden whole world come under the lockdown. In India, one of the biggest nationwide
lockdowns is announced to prevent spread on coronavirus. The entire 1.3 billion
population is locked inside their homes. People are not allowed to come out of
their houses. Factories, offices, religious places, tourist spots are all
closed. This pandemic is affecting all the sectors worldwide. Heritage and
tourism are one of them. These are the areas that demand to go out and work. But
due to the lockdown, this sector gets more affected than anything else. In
India, we have rich sources of culture, natural as well as built heritage. Many
families earn their daily income through cultural activities and events.
Heritage tourism is one of the fastest-growing businesses in India. Many
families are dependent on tourism for their livelihood.
In India, we have 3691
centrally protected monuments which include UNESCO world heritage sites. These
include temples, mosques, churches, rock-cut caves, museums, forts, palaces,
stepped wells etc. In the heritage sector, most of the revenue is generated by the ticketed monument, is through the ticket amount collected by the tourist. Other
than that lots of people are dependent for their living on the supporting
activates of tourism. These heritage sites see the heavy turnover of foreign as
well as domestic tourists every year. This sites hit the high income every
single day which mainly include local tourist guides, photographers, rickshaw
and taxi drivers, parking attendant, etc.
Also, shopkeepers, street vendors, hotel owners, and homestay owners are
in high demand during this season. These tourism-related activities are the
major source of income for the uplifting the local businesses.
Due to COVID-19, all the
monuments and heritage sites are empty. One of the famous tourist attractions the
Taj Mahal in Agra is empty. In Mumbai, the gateway of India, the most happening
place in the city is empty. Also, the Ganga Ghats in Varanasi which are famous
for devotees are empty. Due to the crisis, all transportation facilities are
shut down for an uncertain period. Lockdown is increasing continually. Tourism
is the major source of income for the heritage sector and now it is on the
verge of collapse as the majority of the heritage sites are closed. But now,
due to the closer of these heritage sites, one of the major problems is how to
fulfil the needs of the thousands of people who are dependent on tourism-related
activities to earn their daily income. The holiday season in India for
travelling is heavy in March, April, and May, and during this time these
stakeholders get a chance to earn maximum revenue. But due to the pandemic, the
footfall of tourists has been declined as travel ban comes into the picture.
The complete lockdown has left people scrambling for the employment
opportunity. Most of these people are not allowed to do any other job as they
are bounded by the terms and conditions given by the government to grant a
license.
 |
| Gateway of India, Mumbai |
 |
| Ganga Ghaat, Varanasi |
Another group that gets
highly affected due to pandemic is the local artisans. The people who are
involved in art and crafts. The artisans are hit very badly in this crisis
time. Not only the financial problems are there to face but also their
inspiration is decreasing day by day. Also, they are facing the problem of the
shortage of resources that are necessary for the articles. Many artisans and craftsmen are left
unemployed due to the shift of the business. This pandemic is severely
undercutting the economic livelihood of Indian artist and their community. Small
businesses mainly self-employed artists get more affected in this situation who
depend on direct orders and seasonal sales due to the cancellation of orders to
the unawareness of the disease. Cancellation of craft bazaar is affecting to
the craftsmen as big orders and long term clients come through such Bazar and
exhibitions. Because interaction in Bazar and exhibition is the best way to
appreciate the texture and quality of the craft. The cancellation of such
exhibitions means a very big loss for the artist in a country like India.
The majority of the cultural events, performances are either cancelled or postponed. These cultural events serve as the medium of education, promotions, and transfusion of heritage from one to another. Fairs and festivals are important sources to revive and understand culture. All major concerts and cultural events are getting cancelled due to pandemic and this is affecting all the artists nationwide. One of the major cultural events in India where thousands of performers are going to get gathered is cancelled and this hits the big loss for the event managers as well as artists.
Where everything is going to be affected negatively, there is also the optimism that the artist will use this time to acquire new skills and consolidate their business. The situation is very critical but we can face it together to lower down the impact. Showing support for local tourism is the best way to overcome the crisis. We need to find the different ways that can help. In the current situation, we need to focus on the local level rather than the global. Local-level tourism can help to revive the situation. This will work on the community level. In India, there is something special about the city which we can promote. We can arrange the local heritage walks at the city level. We can monitor our valued objects and building. Also, the promotion of the local artisans and their products can help them to revive their livelihood. As the world is connecting through the internet, this can work as wonders for the artisans. But there were extensive efforts are required to provide alternative services for all of these through the digital platform. But in the end, we all have that hope, there will be a new sun who bloom this once again.
Comments
Post a Comment