Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget announcements for the tourism sector bode well for the hospitality industry, said industry veterans. "The government is taking initiatives to make travel more experiential which is exactly what travel enthusiasts are looking for. Well executed government projects can make the experience more wholesome and seamless,” said Nikhil Kapur, Co-Founder & Director, Atmantan Wellness Centre.
Kapur said the development of 50 new destinations will make India more attractive to international tourists as their options will increase. “We are eagerly looking forward to the one-stop online application that the government will be launching with features like physical connectivity and tourist guides among other amenities to provide a complete tourism experience to all travellers,” he said. Kapur said the initiatives will help generate many job opportunities as well as foreign exchange.
The focus on ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ and the development in the North-East states has been cheered. “For domestic tourism “Dekho Apna Desh” has already been promoted very widely now similarly international tourism too will be revived with these initiates. The tourist infrastructure will also be provided on the border and in North East India, which will be highly beneficial for the inflow of tourists. The industry can harness the direct and multiplier effects of tourism in employment generation to the youth of India,” said S P Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Pride Hotels Limited.
Industry body Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) has also welcomed the announcement. “The Unity Mall, other tourism promotion initiatives through states and the development of 50 tourism destinations as a whole package will help in the growth of domestic as well as international tourism. Also, the announcement of additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advance landing grounds to improve regional connectivity is a great step. Like the Golden Triangle, regional connectivity will give a major boost to the dedicated tourism corridors. This will help promote local tourism whilst giving a boost to investment in hospitality projects in the region,” said Jaison Chacko, Secretary General, FHRAI. The industry is expecting appropriate allocation to be made to hospitality as per sector-specific planning envisaged by the Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with the industry. Moreover, the revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs with an infusion of Rs 9,000 crore into the corpus is expected to help small- and medium-scale hotels and restaurants.
Chacko said that, however, the hospitality industry's long pending requests for infrastructure status, uniform GST, and placing tourism on the concurrent list of the constitution have not been met.
Shares of most hospitality companies closed on a high post the announcement that the promotion of tourism will be taken up in mission mode, including via PPPs.
Shares of Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) closed nearly 9 per cent up, while EIH closed over 7 per cent. Lemon Tree Hotels gained nearly 6 per cent.
Also Read: Union Budget 2023-24: Why old tax regime is still better than new tax regime