The tourism industry, of which hospitality is an important and important component, is a key driver of economic growth and job creation globally. In India, for the year 2019, the industry contributed 9% to India’s GDP, employing almost 4.5 crore people and providing livelihoods to around 16 crore people. Tourism has been identified as one of the five pillars of the Indian economy. India Tourism is blessed to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its biggest supporter and best brand ambassador – whether it is calling on compatriots to travel the country or encouraging resident Indians to abroad to visit their roots with friends and relatives.
Hotels are the essential tourism infrastructure providers of tourist accommodation for all types of travelers in all budget categories. The Hotel Association of India (HAI) is the apex body of the Indian hotel industry and has worked with the government on sector policy issues for over two decades. It focused on the key reform imperatives needed to help India become a global tourism hub.
Licensing hotels, benefits currently available to the industry such as subsidized utility rates, lower property tax, simplified procedures for licensing projects and hotel operations has been advocated by the association for a very long time. long time. HAI is therefore encouraged and pleased to see recent efforts by some state governments to announce these benefits. The Maharashtra government has been a forerunner in supporting the industry, especially after hotels were badly hit by the Covid pandemic. He also issued guidelines, initiated the hotel identification process, formed a site visit inspection committee, and engaged Qualstar to develop a site inspection roadmap that will be followed by the committee. This will allow approved hotels to claim all the incentives and ultimately grow the market.
The association hopes that other Indian states and UT will soon follow and support hotels in the same way as agriculture and industry sectors enabling rapid growth and development of the hotel sector across the country. Allow hotels to take advantage of benefits for electricity rates, property tax, refinancing of existing debt, hassle-free loans at subsidized interest rates, taxes, simplified approval process for projects and hotel operations will be a step forward in furthering the government’s initiative to make tourism and hospitality a national priority. The multiplier effect of the sector is enormous and surpasses that of other sectors such as manufacturing.
MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General of HAI, said, “We are encouraged to see the efforts being made by the government of Maharashtra for this ground-breaking initiative to assist the hospitality sector with policies that will contribute to post-pandemic recovery and recovery. long-term growth. It is a capital-intensive sector and the status of the industry will help accelerate the growth and development of the industry. When implemented, it will not only strengthen the sector to unlock its true potential to make significant contributions to state GDP and employment, but also “promote transparency, reduce costs and encourage reinvestment” to support the post-pandemic economic recovery of the region. .”
Previously, states like Karnataka and Rajasthan had also granted “industry status” to the sector to help post-pandemic recovery.
The Indian hospitality industry has faced one of the most severe breaches due to the pandemic. Granting “industry status” to the sector will help the industry grow at a rapid pace, encourage investment and boost employment across the country.
