Pradeep Shetty, President, Hotel And Restaurant Association (Western India) – HRAWI said, “The current GST rates for hospitality are among the highest globally, making tourism expensive. We urge the abolition of the 18 per cent GST category for hotels with room rates above Rs.7500, merging it with the 12 per cent GST category to boost both domestic and inbound tourism. Ease of doing business is essential.”   

Skyscanner’s latest research reveals that Indian travellers have a strong appetite for travel and are keen value hunters, always scouting for great offers. 75 per cent of these travellers indicated they would be tempted to book another getaway if they found an irresistible offer. Given that travel budgets are a key consideration, finding the perfect offer is crucial. 

According to ICRA’s analysis of monthly domestic passenger traffic data for the aviation industry in June 2024, domestic air passenger traffic was estimated at approximately 132.8 lakh, marking a decrease of about 3.7% from 137.9 lakh in May 2024. However, it showed a year-on-year growth of approximately 6.3% and was notably higher by around 10.4% compared to pre-Covid levels.  

Goa’s tourism minister Rohan Khaunte emphasised the draft bill aims to curb revenue leakages and enforce discipline in the sector. He said, “There is significant revenue leakage from events that never pay any fees to the tourism department. We will levy a fee to regulate these events.” 

Naveen Kundu, Managing Director of Ebixcash Travel Group, urges the Finance Minister, stating, “Increasing the budget for meetings and events under the ‘Meet in India’ initiative is not just an investment in event hosting but a strategic move to bolster India’s global standing and economic growth. I kindly request your support and consideration in revising the budget allocation to ensure that ‘Meet in India’ continues to thrive and contribute significantly to our national goals.” 

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Tourism, has said that the National Tourism Policy needs a fundamental transformative idea to be launched in a big way. “The MOT can do everything in the draft policy even without its launch. We need to look at what is that single all-encompassing transformative idea that we need to leverage into the new policy,” he said.

Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT), the travel division of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), New Delhi has been appointed as the official travel partner for Team India at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This partnership highlights ATT’s commitment to excellence and its expertise in travel management. M.R. Synrem, IAS Managing Director, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), said,“ATT’s collaboration with Team India exemplifies our commitment to promoting Indian sports and assisting our athletes on their journey to greatness. We look forward to providing exceptional service to Team India, helping them focus on their performance and bring home the glory from the 2024 Paris Olympics. We are thrilled to be a part of this historic event and wish our athletes the best.” As the official travel partner, ATT will be responsible for coordinating and managing all travel arrangements for Team India, ensuring a seamless and comfortable journey for the athletes, coaches, and rest of the contingent. This collaboration highlights ATT’s expertise in travel management and its support for Indian sports. Sanjay Singh, General Manager, Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT) said, “We are incredibly proud to support our nation’s athletes as they represent India on the global stage. At Ashok Travels & Tours, we believe in the power of sports to unite and inspire, and have handled similar contingents successfully in the recent past as well “ The announcement was made at a grand send-off event hosted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) at The Ashok, New Delhi.  

Air France-KLM warned that the Olympic Games would lead to a drop in revenues of up to 180 million euros ($193 million), due to a decline in travel to Paris over the summer. Air France-KLM had been hoping for a boost to its brand image from the Games, but there have been concerns that the Games may keep other travellers from visiting Paris. 

Ahmad Johanif Mohd Ali, Director, Tourism Malaysia’s office in New Delhi, stated that one of Malaysia’s primary focuses is promoting itself as a filming destination. Through the Film Production Incentives in Malaysia (FIMI), they offer a 35% rebate on total expenditures, attracting numerous filming locations to choose Malaysia. They also aim to attract Indian filmmakers through these incentives.

Samual Machado, Managing Director for India and South Asia, Sabre Travel Solutions said, “The data shows that India travel market will be more than $250 billion worth in the next four to five years. When it comes to challenges, the speed at which we are growing will bring a lot of challenges to us. One of these challenges is technology adaptation, which will be a huge challenge in India because most of the agencies that we have are brick and mortar. They all have to invest to make sure that they are elevating the offline travel business to online travel business.”