Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association has urged the Kerala government and the concerned political parties to exempt hotels and tourism sector from the hartal on July 5. Its general secretary Jos Mohan said at a press conference that the association too was opposed to the hike in prices of petroleum products and other commodities, but did not approve of the hartal. He called for peaceful democratic alternative means of protest.
The hotels incurred heavy losses during the recent hartal, forced on them. The tourists too faced much hardship, he said.
The prices of vegetables and meat had doubled over the past two years. Scarcity of labour was another grave issue. The hotels were unable to retain the prices of its services or food items, according to him.
