Peter Kerkar, Director, Cox & Kings Ltd
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Peter Kerkar, Director, Cox & Kings Ltd quote on the Union Buget 2017: “Infrastructure is a part of the 10 most important themes in Union Budget 2017 with allocation for infrastructure at a record Rs 3,96,135 crore. Road and rail infrastructure are crucial in terms of boosting tourism as these are widely used mode of transport in India. In this context, stepping up the allocation for national highways to Rs 64,000 crore, announcement to launch dedicated trains for pilgrimage/tourism and service charge withdrawal on booking of rail tickets are welcoming moves which will help to accelerate domestic and inbound travel. Provisions made for clean and safe rail travel and making 500 rail stations disabled-friendly are also encouraging.
Mr Kerkar said “We are quite positive about the focus on rural infrastructure development as we see a scope to promote rural tourism even further, especially for inbound tourists. However, we need to know more about what all will be covered in five special tourism zones to be set up in partnership with states.”
JB Singh, President and CEO of InterGlobe Hotels
JB Singh, President and CEO of InterGlobe Hotels quoted “This budget has taken several measures to boost the travel and tourism industry. We see a strong focus on strengthening rail-road infrastructure and building of airports in tier-II cities in order to support the tourism ecosystem, which is likely to improve connectivity across the country.
Rural India holds immense potential from a tourism point-of- view, and the newly announced initiatives to further develop our rural markets with 100% village electrification will further add to the overall development of our economy.
Mr Singh said, “The industry was however, keenly looking forward to a stronger government focus on incentives for the commercial real estate sector such as listing of REITS, changes to the Real Estate Regulatory Bill and creation of single-window clearances besides according infrastructure status to the hospitality industry. We now look forward to the implementation of GST such that all taxes are streamlined for the long-term benefit of the country.”
Dhaval Jani, VP, Sales & Mktg, V Resorts
Dhaval Jani, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, V Resorts on post budget reaction on Travel and Tourism: “We were expecting much more for the travel and tourism industry, and we are a bit disappointed that the Government did not announce any package, incentive for the sector. The good news is the emphasis on improving the infrastructure – that of 3500 railway lines across India, setting up of airports in Tier 2 cities and dedicated trains for religious tourism – will ultimately work in encouraging people to travel more. But it all depends on the implementation and the time for the projects to materialize. The announcement of ‘no service charge’ on IRCTC bookings, done clearly to encourage digitization is a move that will benefit a company like us. This move will create a healthy approach of travellers towards travel planning online, spells good news as 80 per cent of our transactions happen online.”
Bhupesh Joshi, CEO & Director of Club One Air
Bhupesh Joshi, CEO & Director of Club One Air (India’s oldest and largest air charter company) said “From the economy perspective, the Honorable Finance Minister has laid down broad framework for growth in the coming years to make India as one of the fastest growing major economies. This year budget has shown a 24% increase in expenditure which aligned with a perspective of ‘Transform, Energise and Clean India’, though no larger perspective for corporate India mentioned. The decision to formulate’ Airport Authority Act’ for monetize land is a welcome move which will empower the sector to meet demands whereas move towards PPP mode for operations & maintenance work for select airports in Tier 2 cities will likely to help us in long term.”
Viren Batra, Co-Founder, Nirvana Excursions
Viren Batra, Co-Founder, Nirvana Excursions said, “This budget good for start up sector as companies will be taxed for 2 out of 7 years. Tax rate on SME and MSME has reduced up to 50 crores which will make small companies more competitive as compared to corporate companies. Reduced tax burden up to 5 lakhs income will have people more disposable income and on the basis of this we expect travel industry to maintain a positive growth..Inbound tourism has been given big boost with creation of special tourism zones.”
Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI
Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) says “We had very high expectations from this year’s Union Budget for tourism and hospitality. Based on the Government’s vision for tourism and our hopes were to receive the much needed reduction in taxes which would come into effect in the GST roll-out later this year. Also we had hoped that the government would grant infrastructure status to hotels with a project cost of INR 25 crore as against the present INR 250 crore. But there has been no mention on any of the critical aspects for promoting tourism.”
“Hospitality as the backbone of Tourism is a big contributor to the Tourism GDP, is the biggest employer and also is one of the biggest generators of Foreign Exchange to the country. It is very disheartening to know that the Union Budget has completely ignored Tourism and Hospitality,” concludes Mr Datwani.
Kamlesh Barot, Past President, HRAWI
Kamlesh Barot, Past President, HRAWI said “For the hospitality industry the only take-away from the Union Budget 2017 is the 5 per cent tax reduction which is applicable for all MSMEs. Other than that, the Government has announced plans to establish five tourism zones in the next Financial Year with Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) set-up. There is no clarity on what or where the Government plans to execute this project. Despite acknowledging Tourism’s potential in creating a multiplier effect for the economy, the Finance Minister has not really marked out anything significant for its promotion.”
Aurvind Lama Co-Founder CEO, Travelyaari
Aurvind Lama, Co-Founder CEO, Travelyaari said “A lot was expected from this year Union Budget, not all but we are happy to see few of them being fulfilled .The union budget presented bought in progressive outlook with due importance given to infrastructure development and tech development. The investment proposed in building National Highways along with developing road network is a welcome step especially for player like us in bus industry. This infrastructural development will greatly benefit the travel and tourism. Focus on improving internet and broadband connection in rural areas will go a long way to digitize cashless economy and connecting them to the main stream. The governments focus on inclusion and encouragement of the MSME sector along with Startups is also visible. Profit linked deductions to 3 years out 7 will be helpful for emerging startup players.”
