Tourism sector calls Budget a growth driver

Mumbai: The tourism industry has welcomed the government's focus on the travel and tourism sector as a long-term growth driver and strategic pillar of India's growth story.

The rationalisation of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages and the focus on tier II and III cities, including temple-towns, through the city economic regions (CER) development budgetary allocation of Rs 5,000 crores will act as a big boost for the tourism sector, top industry players said.

Rationalisation of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages is a welcome step that addresses upfront liquidity impact on Indian outbound travellers, said Rajesh Magow, Chair, FICCI Tourism Committee and Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.

"Continued focus on regional connectivity and destination development, along with an emphasis on skilling and the creation of a national digital repository for destinations, will help improve destination discovery and enhance the overall traveller experience," Magow added.

Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO and Rajnish Kumar, Group Co-CEO, ixigo, said the Union Budget has recognised the sector's role in job creation, foreign exchange earnings and strengthening local economies across the country.