Travel mart members demand industry tag for tourism sector

KOCHI: Representatives of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) met Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas and put forth various demands, including the allocation of industry tag to the sector. “Tourism plays an important role in Kerala in revenue and employment generation.

However, the sector is reeling under a lot of issues, the important one being the delay in granting the benefits of an industry,” said KTM president Baby Mathews. “Getting an industry tag will help those in the sector avail loans easily, get tariff in electricity bills and many more,” he said. 

Though the sector was declared an industry way back in 1986, it only remains on paper, said CGH Earth CEO Jose Dominic. “Kerala was the first state in the country to do so. Sadly, it didn’t become a reality. Power tariffs and property taxes are lower in the IT and manufacturing sectors. But when it comes to the tourism sector, the scenario changes.

We don’t want a mere declaration anymore but proper treatment like the IT and manufacturing sectors,” he said. The sector is also under pressure due to the delay in getting classifications for houseboats, ayurveda centres and homestays. “We also put forth a suggestion to initiate steps for aggressive marketing (B2B and campaigns) in the domestic as well as international markets,” he said. Meanwhile, the tourism minister has assured the stakeholders of all the support. The minister has ordered the director to forward a proposal to the state government immediately, said Baby. 

“The director said the budget proposal for sanctioning the `1,000 crore working capital loans to the tourism sector will be taken up with Kerala Bank, KSIDC and KFC immediately. There is a provision of `20 crore for interest subvention in the current year’s budget. We were also told that action will be taken to clear all pending applications for classification of houseboats, ayurveda centres and homestays” he said.
According to Baby, the director said the tourism department will explore the possibility of reducing participation fees at domestic and international trade fairs. 

“The issues concerning the Supreme Court order on the buffer zone in forest area and the ‘pattaya’ land issue, in view of the High Court order, will be taken up with the revenue minister immediately,” said the KTM president. The meeting also discussed the e-visa tussle going on between the Central government and the governments of the UK, Canada and Saudi Arabia. 

The issue is quite serious, says Jose. “A large number of foreign tourists arriving in Kerala is from the UK. Other foreign countries look at the UK when it comes to travel patterns. Unfortunately, the state alone can’t do anything. The authorities should understand that we are hurting ourselves,” he added.

For the future of tourism

The sector is under pressure due to the delay in getting classifications for houseboats, ayurveda centres and homestays

Getting an industry tag will help those in the tourism sector avail loans easily, get tariff in electricity bills and many more

KOCHI: Representatives of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) met Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas and put forth various demands, including the allocation of industry tag to the sector. “Tourism plays an important role in Kerala in revenue and employment generation. However, the sector is reeling under a lot of issues, the important one being the delay in granting the benefits of an industry,” said KTM president Baby Mathews. “Getting an industry tag will help those in the sector avail loans easily, get tariff in electricity bills and many more,” he said.  Though the sector was declared an industry way back in 1986, it only remains on paper, said CGH Earth CEO Jose Dominic. “Kerala was the first state in the country to do so. Sadly, it didn’t become a reality. Power tariffs and property taxes are lower in the IT and manufacturing sectors. But when it comes to the tourism sector, the scenario changes. We don’t want a mere declaration anymore but proper treatment like the IT and manufacturing sectors,” he said. The sector is also under pressure due to the delay in getting classifications for houseboats, ayurveda centres and homestays. “We also put forth a suggestion to initiate steps for aggressive marketing (B2B and campaigns) in the domestic as well as international markets,” he said. Meanwhile, the tourism minister has assured the stakeholders of all the support. The minister has ordered the director to forward a proposal to the state government immediately, said Baby.  “The director said the budget proposal for sanctioning the `1,000 crore working capital loans to the tourism sector will be taken up with Kerala Bank, KSIDC and KFC immediately. There is a provision of `20 crore for interest subvention in the current year’s budget. We were also told that action will be taken to clear all pending applications for classification of houseboats, ayurveda centres and homestays” he said. According to Baby, the director said the tourism department will explore the possibility of reducing participation fees at domestic and international trade fairs.  “The issues concerning the Supreme Court order on the buffer zone in forest area and the ‘pattaya’ land issue, in view of the High Court order, will be taken up with the revenue minister immediately,” said the KTM president. The meeting also discussed the e-visa tussle going on between the Central government and the governments of the UK, Canada and Saudi Arabia.  The issue is quite serious, says Jose. “A large number of foreign tourists arriving in Kerala is from the UK. Other foreign countries look at the UK when it comes to travel patterns. Unfortunately, the state alone can’t do anything. The authorities should understand that we are hurting ourselves,” he added. For the future of tourism The sector is under pressure due to the delay in getting classifications for houseboats, ayurveda centres and homestays Getting an industry tag will help those in the tourism sector avail loans easily, get tariff in electricity bills and many more