Budget 2024 | Tourism sector seeks more measures to attract international travellers

In the post-COVID era, India experienced a surge in outbound travel, particularly to short-haul destinations, fueled by increased spending capacity. While Indians explore countries in Asia and the Middle East, inbound tourism struggles to return to pre-COVID levels.

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present a vote-on-account budget on February 1, 2024, the hotel and tourism industry anticipates measures for the revival of inbound travel.

Madhavan Menon, Executive Chairman at Thomas Cook India Ltd, outlined key points on the need to boost inbound travel, including the revival of incentive schemes, reduced income tax levels to stimulate disposable income, and annual LTA exemptions to promote domestic tourism. Additionally, he suggested standardising TCS at 5% on foreign travel packages.

Sharing a similar perspective, Sharad Datta, General Manager at JW Marriott New Delhi, said that the hospitality sector looks forward to measures fostering growth, enhancing competitiveness, and positioning the industry as an economic catalyst and global tourism attractor.

Datta emphasised the importance of infrastructure development and skill development to ensure a vibrant and sustainable future for the Indian hospitality sector. These initiatives, he believes, will contribute significantly to India's economic growth.

Aloke Bajpai, Co-founder & Group CEO of ixigo, said. "The past year has been extremely exciting for the travel & tourism sector; especially with the government’s increasing focus on boosting domestic and inbound travel. India is on track to be the fastest-growing aviation market in the world in the next decade."

He said that the rising trend of domestic air travel from tier 2,3,4 cities is encouraging, and he expects to see the budget continue to allocate resources for the development of infrastructure, technology, and safety measures at existing and new airports in these cities under the UDAN scheme.

"Spiritual tourism is poised to be a key focus this year, and we anticipate more measures aimed at enhancing infrastructure, and accessibility, including last-mile connectivity in spiritual and cultural hubs across India," Bajpai added.