Tag Archives: Suman Billa

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, MOT, has said that India could have one taskforce that looks at the ‘macro side’ picture, but there is also a need to have four or five taskforces that work on sector-specific issues. “I think there is a clear case for making four or five taskforces, but we will figure out how to structure them,” he said.

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said that TCS is a fair point raised by outbound sector, because people who are doing business in India are getting disincentivised and who travel abroad can make the payment and obviate the entire necessity of paying the tax. “We will be taking it up with the Ministry of Finance,” he added.

Speaking about MICE, Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Tourism, said, “It is a big opportunity and there is a need to bring the biggest conferences of the world here, to show the size of India’s offerings. With world-class conferencing infrastructure like Bharat Mandapam, we need to look at how we can utilise those to get more conferences in India.”

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said, “We need to think of Viksit Bharat 2047 and plan for the next five years in how to create a stronger tourism sector. Broadly we need to look at having a business plan sort of a strategy—where are we now? Where should we be in 2047? and What is the target that we set for ourselves over the next five years in terms of investment, job creation, promotion & publicity?”

Suman Billa returns to Ministry of Tourism as Additional Secretary in place of Rakesh Verma, who has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development u& Ganga Rejuvenation. Billa was the Joint Secretary, Tourism, from 2014 to 2019, after which he joined UNWTO as Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road. After this, he was appointed as Principal Secretary, Industries and NORKA, Government of Kerala until the recent move.

FICCI organized the 6th National Tourism Investors Meet recently, where Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation & Silk Road at UNWTO talked about creative destruction; He said “We all know that the world post pandemic is going to be very different from the world as we knew before. If we were a destination, it would be very surprising if post pandemic we start with the same products and same businesses that we had before the beginning of the pandemic because the world has changed tremendously since then. Every business and every product that is out there has been questioned, investigated and they have come to new forms”.

Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development, UNWTO, has said that India should open unhindered travel for those who are vaccinated. “This means that for domestic travel, if I have been vaccinated and I have a certificate to prove it, I should be allowed to travel wherever I can.” Billa also suggests that India needs an entirely new set of guidelines that can reassure inbound tourists of India’s safety.

During a webinar hosted by FHRAI, Suman Billa, Director, UNWTO, said, “UNWTO estimates a drop of 50-60% in the international tourist arrival this year. It will take 2-3 years to bounce back. To survive, we will have to create a domestic market. We also need harmonisation of protocols in each state.”

In order to support its member states, UNWTO has unveiled a COVID-19 Tourism Recovery package. Sharing more information Suman Billa, Director, Technical Co-operation and Silk Road, UNWTO said, “It is structured around three pillars. One, economic recovery, two, marketing and promotion and three institutional strengthening and building resilience.” The product offering will be custom made for each member state.

Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation & Silk Route Development, UNWTO, has said that the Indian stimulus package follows the same trajectory as other global stimulus packages, and instead of being disheartened about not having a specific tourism stimulus package, the industry should reach out to the government and share what in the existing package doesn’t work for them. “The industry should pitch for moratorium on interest and lowering of interest rates. They should look at firms which were left out and ensure that everybody should get access to loans. We need to look at the existing package and see what provisions are pinching us and tell the government that it is not catching the sensitivity of the tourism sector. If we can say that, I am sure that the government will be happy to consider the request,” commented Billa while speaking at the ‘Saving Airlines & Allied Industries – Saving Jobs’ webinar. He added that most stimulus packages across the world are sector-agnostic, and that the industry should carefully assess the existing provisions and propose the changes that are specifically required for the tourism sector.