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Govt fillip to pitch India as global tourist destination
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced initiatives to boost tourism, including temple corridor development and promoting India as a global destination.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a series of steps, ranging from building temple corridors and wildlife sanctuaries to pitching India as a global destination, as part of the government’s efforts to provide a fillip to the tourism sector.
The minister said tourism plays an intrinsic role in India’s cultural fabric. “The people have given a unique opportunity to our government to take the country on the path of strong development and all-round prosperity... tourism has always been a part of our civilisation. Our efforts in positioning India as a global tourist destination will also create jobs, stimulate investments and unlock economic opportunities for other sectors,” she said.
According to the budget, the government plans for comprehensive development of the Vishnupad temple and Mahabodhi temple corridors, at Gaya and Bodh Gaya, respectively, on the lines of the Kashi-Vishwanath temple corridor. A similar plan has also been devised for the Nalanda-Rajgir corridor.
Besides promoting Nalanda as a centre for tourism, Sitharaman also announced plans to revive the Nalanda University to its “glorious stature” — a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the varsity close to the site of the ruins of Nalanda during his Bihar visit.
“Rajgir holds immense religious significance for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. The 20th Tirthankara Munisuvrata temple in the Jain Temple complex is ancient. The Saptharishi or the seven hotsprings form a warm water Brahmakund that is sacred. A comprehensive development initiative for Rajgir will be undertaken,” Sitharaman said.
The government also stressed on Odisha’s scenic beauty, highlighted by the state’s temples, monuments, craftsmanship, wildlife sanctuaries, natural landscapes and pristine beaches, “making it an ultimate tourism destination”.
The finance minister added there was tremendous potential for cruise tourism in India. “To give a fillip to this employment-generating industry, I am proposing a simpler tax regime for foreign shipping companies operating domestic cruises in the country,” she said.
Some stakeholders in the tourism industry, however, said they were “disappointed” with the budget announcements, as their recommendations to boost the industry had been sidelined.
“We had given multiple recommendations with regards to boosting inbound tourism, but they seem to have been ignored or not taken up. It hurts more as the government’s objective is to give a boost to employment generation, and no industry comes closer to it in terms of the potential of employment generation,” Indian Association of Tour Operators president Rajiv Mehra said.
Others said the government’s stance that India has the potential to become a global tourism hub was “encouraging”, but the allocation did not meet the vision.
“It would also have been nice to see a budget recommendation supporting this, such as an increase in the marketing and publicity budget, infrastructure status support to hospitality, abolishing TCS on travel and reduction in GST rates on tourism travel and hospitality. The support given to spiritual tourism through corridor development and cruise tourism through tax adjustment on foreign ships on Indian shores will support these sub-sectors. There was the potential for this budget to address a lot more opportunities for growth in Indian tourism in a structured manner,” said Aashish Gupta, consulting CEO, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality.
