Page 146 - Hospitality Horizon - February-March 2021

“THERE ARE EARLY SIGNS OF RECOVERY LED
MAJORLY BY SELF-DRIVE HOLIDAYS WITH
RESIDENTS OF METRO CITIES HEADING TO
THEIR NEAREST LEISURE DESTINATIONS.”
giving out details about destinations with historic
and cultural heritage in the country were a way of
keeping the tourism kettle boiling as it were to
draw the attention of the potential tourists in
India and abroad to the unknown, untapped
riches of Indian heritage.
The government also expects that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion that
people visit 15 ‘domestic tourist destinations’ as a
way of knowing the country as well as
encouraging domestic tourism would, in turn,
generate revenues.
Recognising the economic importance of
tourism and the need to open fresh avenues,
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has
allocated Rs1,200 crore for developing
tourism circuits in eight Northeast states under
Swadesh Darshan. There was also budgetary
146 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2021 hospitality horizon
allocation of Rs207.55 crore for developing the
religious tourism circuit under Pilgrimage
Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive
(PRASAD) because the government is fully alive
to the growth potential of pilgrimage in the
tourism sector.
In addition, the government has also provided
tax incentives by reducing GST on hotel tariffs
from Rs1,001 to Rs 7,500 to 12 per cent, and those
above Rs7,500 to 18 per cent.
Indian tourism is in the classic Catch-22
situation. It has huge potential but to tap the
potential infrastructure needs to be developed,
incentives provided, and investments made, and
for some reason or the other these things are not
available in good measure.
Right now, the tourism potential remains
untapped, the infrastructure is inadequate, and