Tourism has been a key contributor to the Indian economy and has immense growth potential. The industry reinforces the hospitality sector and driving direct and indirect employment. While the government’s initiatives to strengthen domestic connectivity as well as international accessibility have borne positive results, there is still a huge gap in terms of travel facilities, infrastructure, recreational outlets, high taxes as well as safety.
For the upcoming Union budget, I believe that the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST) should be a prime focus. This will rationalize multiple tax structure and provide relief to the industry. We are also hopeful that the government will lay more emphasis on the tourism sector and provides effective solutions to promote domestic tourism. Introduction of tourism-focused states, large-scale state events and shopping festivals could be some of these measures.
