Union mantri hints at infra status for tourism sector

Panaji: With the country’s tourism sector struggling in the face of GST rates and heightened international competition, Union minister for tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat hinted that the sector could be granted infrastructure status soon. Shekhawat said that he discussed the industry’s expectations with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman as well as the ministry of external affairs.
“I took the initiative to request a meeting with the finance minister before this event, even amid her commitments at the World Bank summit.Our in-depth conversation about infrastructure status for this industry and its implications was met with genuine attentiveness, and I am optimistic about positive outcomes from our discussions,” said Shekhawat.
Shekhawat was speaking at the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) conference, which is taking place at a starred hotel at Dona Paula. The three-day event was inaugurated by Shekhawat in the presence of chief minister Pramod Sawant and tourism minister Rohan Khaunte.
“At the Centre, we are working with the ministry of external affairs to attract key international markets, and simultaneously we are working to decongest popular tourist destinations,” said the Union minister. He added that the Centre is also working with states to develop large-scale tourism projects.
“We must also focus on cultivating new tourism destinations, particularly in rural and lesser-known areas, to diversify our tourism landscape,” said Shekhawat.
The travel and tourism sector has been advocating for the grant of infrastructure status, GST rationalisation, changes to leave travel allowance (LTA) rules, and incentives to boost local destinations. “Some of the issues that I would like to highlight are the high GST rates in the country. If we have to compete with any southeast Asian countries, most of them have single-digit GST. While significant progress was made in recent years, the implementation of reforms is crucial,” said Pradeep Shetty, president of FHRAI.