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Things could look up for the tourism industry with the new Government in place.
Secretary for Tourism, Mr Sujit Banerjee, told media that the top priority could be according the sector its long overdue infrastructure status. This will be the best piece of news to hotels, as they will now be able to get cheaper loans as a result.
Mr Banerjee said so on the sidelines of the Bird Academy’s training centre inaugural. This is the education arm of the group that deals in the filed of aviation, travel and information technology.
He also commented that the tourism industry would also welcome single window clearance for all hotel projects. As per the present rules, 106 clearances are needed before a project sees the light of day. He said,“We are pursuing all this in a big way”.
Tourist arrivals
Facilitating visa on arrival to at least five countries (of the 18 where multiple visas are allowed), rationalisation of service tax across the country and seamless travel between cities without having to stop at various toll collection points are the other parts of the Ministry’s wish-list. As per Mr Bannerjee, the service tax varies from 20 per cent in Assam and Meghalaya to five per cent in Uttarakhand.
The recent bit of good news pertains to foreign tourist arrival numbers. Though the recession and the 26/11 aftermath did affect sentiments, international arrivals have been picking up. From a negative 17.6 per cent growth in January 2009, it is now down to a negative 10.5 per cent in April.
He also added, “This has been a result of the Visit India 2009 campaign and the road shows that we arranged in 25 countries since February to showcase India as a stable and safe country to visit.” The Hindu Business Line
May 26, 2009
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