Tag Archives: Debjit Dutta

The availability of direct flights is a game-changer for the travel agents in Odisha. Debjit Dutta, Director & CEO, of Impression Tourism Services, said, “With improved connectivity, the state is more accessible to visitors. It will also open new markets and business opportunities.

In the foremost session of 3rd TravTalk Digital Conclave, titled ‘The Reality of No Tourism’, Debjit Dutta, Director & CEO, Impression Tourism Services (India), highlighted the advantage enjoyed by East India when it came to tourism’s recovery. He said, “For eastern India, the biggest opportunity will be cross-border tourism with East Asian countries. Lockdown has come as a form of opportunity for the industry to learn and adapt to a better world.” He added that while indirect support from the government will be needed, stand-alone properties will be more popular and in demand once everything normalises, as people would like to travel to less-crowded places that serve their specialised needs.

Debjit Dutta, Chairman, IATO East Chapter, said that the announced tax slab on tour operators is satisfactory but because hotels are a major component of their business, the 28 per cent tax on hotels above Rs. 5000 will hit them in a bad way. “Most inbound tourists want to stay in properties that are well above the Rs. 5000 bracket. The business model for inbound is also different from that for domestic – we create our deals and packages about a year in advance and with the new tax rate for hotels, we will have to pay the 28 per cent and five per cent, in addition to the standard rate of the hotel room. This barely leaves us with any profit margin. The tax rate needs to be reconsidered since it will kill a lot of business where most of the hotels will benefit from direct booking. In addition, with neighbouring countries coming up in a big way such as Sri Lanka, the products and tax rates need to be competitive,” he added.

Debjit Dutta, Chairman, IATO Eastern Chapter and Founder & CEO, Impression Tourism Services, says this bold move has definitely caused an inconvenience for travellers. “Foreign tourists who have recently exchanged money are now facing several problems even to buy food and shop since they are on holiday. Since we are tour operators, our business runs mostly on cash payments so it has hindered business as well. I feel that some facility should have been in place keeping in mind the number of tourists that are affected with this change – such turn of events might just lead them to have a bad impression of the country and go back with the same thing in mind,” he adds.