Wedding industry back to pre-COVID levels by end of 2021:OYO

Hospitality firm OYO-ownedWeddingz.in on Monday said the USD 50-billion marriageindustry in the country, which was severely affected by thecoronavirus outbreak, has started recovering with easing ofrestrictions and will reach the pre-COVID levels by the end of2021.

According to an estimate by the company, the volume ofwedding events in 2020 was at 40-50 per cent of the number inthe previous year and guest lists shrunk by 60 per cent due tothe restrictions imposed on public gatherings.

Overall spending for wedding events was also down toone-third of the 2019-levels as the marriage ceremonies gotsqueezed in the wake of the pandemic, he said.

''With revenues falling sharply, the industry wasadversely impacted due to the restrictions imposed ongatherings due to COVID-19.

''This led to a 50 per cent decline in the number ofevents and the spending was down to one-third or less than the2019-levels,'' OYO's Weddingz.in CEO Sandeep Lodha told PTI.

In the pandemic months, several unique experiencescame to light like weddings without a 'baraat' and use ofvirtual platforms to show the rituals for friends andrelatives who were unable to attend the ceremony.

''Compared to 2019, we expect to see 70-80 per cent ofevents taking place in the first few months of 2021. Thebusinesses are likely to reach the pre-COVID levels by the endof the current year.

''Further, the number of guests will continue to be at50-60 per cent of pre-COVID levels, with spending at venuesaround 35-50 per cent of the 2019-levels,'' Lodha said.

According to Weddingz Wows Report 2020, Delhi was topof the list of cities with the maximum number of weddingsconducted in 2020, followed by Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow andKolkata.

As the restrictions have been eased during the unlockphases, businesses managed to bounce back but are yet to reachthe pre-COVID levels, he said.

''A total of 15,500 weddings took place across Indiavia the platform in 2020 despite the COVID challenges ascompared to the previous year when the company executed over27,000 events,'' Lodha added.