Tourism minister to meet FM seeking 'infrastructure' status for his sector

Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has asked hospitality sector stakeholders to prepare a “concrete” paper seeking infrastructure status for the travel and hospitality sector, a demand which he will put forth before the finance ministry.

 

The sector has long been demanding infrastructure status, which will help it avail debt at a lower cost and boost reinvestment of profits within the industry.

 

“We are talking to Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on this. Still we have to work a little more on that. I have requested CII and the industry stakeholders to prepare concrete documents ... so that we can go to the Ministry of Finance and try to get this status,” Shekhawat said on the sidelines of the 18th CII annual tourism summit.

 

Talking about the fall in foreign tourists to India, he said, “If you look at post-pandemic foreign tourist growth in the region, India is probably the best, but still there’s a huge scope. We have given e-visas and the ‘Chalo India’ campaign, under which visa fee has been exempted, while also revamping the Incredible India website.”

 

According to the Ministry of Tourism, India recorded 4.778 million (Provisional) FTAs during January-June 2024. However, this was still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

 

While addressing the summit, Shekhawat said, infrastructural development in the country and digitisation have ensured limitless possibilities for the country’s tourism sector.

 

According to a joint CII and EY report, which was launched at the summit, the sector is poised to add 6.1 million new jobs by 2036-37.

 

“By 2036-37, spending in this sector is projected to rise by 1.2 times, driving the need for an additional 61 lakh workers–comprising 46 lakh males and 15 lakh females. This highlights the sector’s pivotal role in gender inclusion and workforce expansion,” the report stated.

 

Suman Billa, additional secretary, Ministry of Tourism at the summit also underscored the importance of addressing supply shortages to meet growing demand in the tourism sector.

 

Billa further elaborated on a three-pronged strategy to improve supply and create a flourishing tourism sector. First for the Ministry of Finance and RBI to provide infrastructure status to the sector, second to rationalise development norms across states such as FSI etc., and third to facilitate ease of doing business by simplifying clearances and making them time bound.