Source: Yahoo! News
May 21, 2020
Washington, May 21 (PTI) An prominent Indian-American hotelier has requested Vice President Mike Pence to reopen the US economy as millions of people depending on the hotel, travel and tourism industry are on the verge of being thrown into deep poverty amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The US economy, frozen by COVID-19 shutdowns, is in the process of thawing out. All 50 states have at least partially eased tight restrictions on businesses, with a mix of policies letting restaurants or stores welcome customers.
‘It is impossible to survive (during COVID 19) when everything is closed down. Just in the first four months, we lost USD1 million in revenue in my two hotels. So, it is very difficult to survive,” hotelier Danny Gaekwad from Florida told PTI after he participated in a round table with Vice President Pence in Orlando.
Gaekwad spoke on behalf of the influential Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) at the roundtable on the hospitality and tourism industry in Orlando, Florida which was chaired by Pence.
The AAHOA accounts for more than 50 per cent of the hotels and motels in the United States. More than 90 per cent members of AAHOA are of Indian-origin and over 60 per cent of them are from Gujarat.
The only Indian-American to present at the roundtable, Gaekwad told Pence that he strongly supports President Donald Trump’s effort to open the American economy. Having gone through the two previous major economic crises this century – 9/11 and 2008 – Gaekwad said that the decisions being taken by the Trump administration to save the economy and protect the people is unprecedented.
