Kochi: A major tourist bus operator in the city is selling his buses for scrap value as frequent Covid lockdowns strangle the lucrative industry.
The near two-year crisis has forced the industry to seek government aid.
As the cash-strapped government looks elsewhere, the tour operators are left to fend for themselves.
Royson Joseph's Royal Travels is no exception as the operator’s buses seldom left the confines of the parking lot, even though there were signs of a revival of tourism late in 2021.
"With coronavirus cases remaining unabated, many are opting to travel in small groups. Almost all of them prefer taking their own cars. There's no business for buses," Royson said.
Reeling under financial stress, Royson is now ready to sell three of his 10 remaining buses for Rs 45 per kilogram.
"I cannot run this business anymore. I have already sold ten of my 20 buses to survive. I'm ready to sell the remaining buses at scrap value. The survival of my family depends on this. Our employees are also in crisis," Royson said.
Royson also laments the fact that despite it being clear that tours that were booked in advance could continue even during the lockdown period, authorities were not clued in.
"We were stopped on our recent visit to Kovalam. Here, police officers fined us Rs 2,000," Royson said.
"This is on top of the many taxes and fees that we had to pay. I pay nearly Rs 40,000 in tax for each bus. Now, I can't even feed my family," Royson said.
