- FAITH has proposed the creation of a National Tourism Council of Chief Ministers led by the Prime Minister, along with the Tourism Minister
- FAITH has also recommended export earnings be made tax free
THoD Newsdesk, New Delhi: FAITH (Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality) has been looking forward to the Union Budget FY 21-22 with high hopes. The associations linked to FAITH have been regularly interacting with Ministries of Tourism and Finance and the NITI Aayog at several levels to hope that the budget not only boosts tourism in India out of the rough economic conditions but also propels Indian tourism industry to claim its rightful leadership place.
Further to make sure that there is the ultimate of vision of tourism is aligned across the Centre and state level, FAITH has proposed the creation of a National Tourism Council of Chief Ministers led by the Prime Minister, along with the Tourism Minister. That should be backed by a common industry status across India for the complete tourism industry by putting it in the concurrent list.
FAITH has also recommended export earnings be made tax free and also the incidence of taxes in tourism earnings be zero-rated. Additionally, SEIS of 10% to all foreign exchange earning members in tourism be made applicable for 5 years to ensure a post-pandemic recovery.
As per reports, ‘a Global MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) Bidding Fund is required to be set up with Rs 500 crore to double India’s MICE share. Indian missions abroad in each country should be activated with tourism resources for maximum reach’.
This needs to be backed with a corpus of least Rs 2,500 crore for a global branding budget to enable sub-branding of three tourism segments i.e. Indian MICE, Indian Adventure, Indian Heritage under the Incredible India main brand, FAITH mentioned. To ensure that the tourism industry becomes a mainstream domestic sector, there needs to be a concerted strategy, it added.
There needs to be an income tax exemption on travelling within India, income tax credits for up to Rs 1.5 lakh when spending with GST registered domestic tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, and transporters anywhere within the country.
