The government should look at incentivising domestic travellers post-pandemic, said Prashant Pitti, co-founder and director of EaseMyTrip (Easy Trip Planners).
The travel and tourism sector has been the worst hit since the pandemic broke out. Yesterday, June 28, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama announced a slew of relief measures that will provide a boost to over 11,000 stakeholders in the tourism sector.
"There are many things which we think the government could do to accelerate the growth in the travel segment. For example - the government can make fully vaccinated Indians travel within the country without mandatory RT-PCR report; every little relaxation matters at this particular stage,” Pitti said.
He added, "The government should allow international tourists to visit India if they are fully vaccinated. The government should set up funds, not just working capital or loans for small hotels. Also post-pandemic, the government should look at incentivising people to travel within the country otherwise we are going to see a huge amount of international travel happening and those people will be indirectly helping other countries to revive from the pandemic rather than our country."
On the relief package, he said, “We are glad that the impact on travel and tourism industry has been recognised. Of course, this industry witnessed the highest contraction since the pandemic and we believe that some of the reliefs given yesterday will play a pivotal role. For example, loans and working capital offered to guides and agents will enable liquidity in the market and also will help them come over challenges they faced in the last 18 months.”
For the entire interview, watch the video
(Edited by : Priyanka Rathi)
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