The premier and nodal body of Inbound Tour Operators, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has written to the Hon. Prime Minister of India to constitute the ‘Indian Tourism Board’ and immediate budgetary allocation at least of Rs 1000 crore under Incredible India campaign to expedite the growth of the tourism and hospitality sector of the country.
According to the association the country has registered a sluggish growth and the number of FTA’s has still not reached the pre-covid mark.
Under potential growth especially for a county like India which offers raw and natural beauty is a great cause of concern.
Keeping in mind that, the upcoming inbound season is just round the corner, the suggested measures are required to be considered on utmost priority to boost the inbound tourism in the current financial year.
Speaking on the advantage of tourism and hospitality sector, IATO’s President, Ravi Gosain, says, “When global trade is facing unprecedented disruptions due to ‘Tariff War’ and ‘Geopolitical Shifts’, ‘Tourism Exports’ remains largely unaffected by such constraints.”
“Unlike goods, India’s tourism export (which is non-tariff based), brings direct Foreign Exchange Earnings FEE into the country,” added Gosain.
Speaking on the same lines, he further says “This positions inbound tourism as a stable, sustainable, and immediate contributor to India’s current account with valuable foreign exchange, employment generation and balances forex trade deficit. Yet , regretfully the country is lagging in its effort to attract foreign tourists.”
According to Gosain, this sector alone has the potential to contribute 1-2 percent to the GDP and therefore this engine needs to fire.
He further suggests that to enhance the FTA we need simplified Visa facilitation, expanding the scope of e-visas, fast-tracking group tourist visas and exploring visa fees waivers for select countries.
“Further, we need to incentivise international airlines and air charters to improve air connectivity to key tourism circuits, especially in tier two and three destination,” concludes Gosain
