The first half of the COVID-19 pandemic was a deadly blow to the travel and tourism sector. Gripped by the nationwide lockdown, businesses across hotels, homestays, modes of transport, adventure activities and more had come to a screening halt. But thanks to the initiative of the tourism boards and private establishments, the hospitality sector started seeing a ray of hope from the last half of 2020, with the introduction of workcation stays, family road trips and more. What added up to all these was the rise of revenge travel or the increased urge to travel more among masses, after being locked up into homes for several months.
The lethal second wave had dampened the travel spirits again, but as the caseload dipped, travel buffs started hitting the roads again. So. what does the travel and hospitality sector expect from budget 2022? Here’s everything to know!
1. Focus On Domestic Travel
With most international borders being shut, domestic travel got a massive boost amid the pandemic. People started exploring hidden gems in the nook and corner of India. Experts hold that they have witnessed demand in domestic flights from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Thus the budget aims to target the renovation of the infrastructure to get more tourists to these locations by the provision of incentives. Plans are underway to take steps like connectivity improvement via air travel.
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2. Launching Sandbox Programmes
International destinations like Thailand and Indonesia had launched sandbox programmes to revive tourism in the country. Introducing such initiates might help in leveraging the potential of international tourism too.
Also Read: Indians Busy With Workcations, Europeans Love Roadtrips; Reveals Study
3. Promoting Digital
The pandemic has created awareness about the digital world among the masses and people started using contactless modes for almost every activity, from payment to e-boarding. The budget will focus on using the maximum benefits from the new age technologies.
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Also Read: Choose Srinagar’s Floating Market Over Bangkok’s
4. Leveraging Potential Of Ropeways
According to an India.com report, Aditya Chamaria, MD, Damodar Ropeways & Infra Limited has said that the operators expect the government to reduce GSTs on ropeways, which is more than that applied on Railways. They feel that the GST should be reduced from 18% to around 5%, as cutting down on taxes might make the ropeways accessible to more and more people without an increase in the fares. This will assist in earning more profits from a greater number of tourists. Meanwhile, here are a few ways in which you can help revive the Indian tourism industry: