According to the GST Council, there will be 5 per cent GST on tours, said P.P. Khanna, President, ADTOI. However, he added that it is not clear whether this rate is applicable on value addition or gross amount. “In a way, the 5 per cent rate is good as we were already paying 4.5 per cent tax on the packages, and it is only 0.5 per cent more than that, which is tolerable. The service tax amendment of 9 per cent tax was more cumbersome for us, as applying for CENVAT credit was an issue, especially with small tour operators and small hotels not being systematic in generating proper invoices in our country. I think the government has taken special consideration for tour operators, as this process was difficult for us,” he shared.

According to Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, the government went two steps back and now they have come one step ahead with the current GST rate. He revealed, “We were giving 4.5 per cent tax before January 22, 2017 and then we had CENVAT available. After January 22, we were under 9 per cent service tax. This step disturbed our summer bookings and there was a major loss of business to international OTAs. The new rates which will be implemented after the GST council’s meeting is 5% on supply of tour operators’ services. We need to clarify the meaning of this. If it is on the profit or add-on, then it’s very good. But if it is on the total amount, then we again stand expensive by 5 per cent than our international suppliers, because if we are taxing international hotels, then we are taxing them again. As input credit is not available it has direct impact on us.”

The 28 per cent tax on hotels is going to affect not only the hotel industry, but other businesses as well, said Sarab Jit Singh, Vice-Chairman, FAITH. He added, “It is a clear way to kill the travel and hospitality industry. Secondly, GST of 5 per cent on tour operators, which was already there. However, the government should look at if they want to promote tourism or their purpose is to earn tax money from tourism instead of generating employment and earn foreign exchange from this sector. They should decide if they want the tourism industry to perish or flourish. We are tired of knee-jerk reactions that we get from the government now and then. I think the government needs to rethink the decisions on taxes. We are having a meeting with FAITH and work on a consolidated approach to talk to the government on this.”

The Government of India’s GST Council finalised the tax rates on services under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime at their meeting held in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. The GST regime is scheduled to kick-in from July 1, and the council has approved the GST rates for services at Nil, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. According to the current rate, the 5% rate of GST will be levied on transport of passengers by rail (other than sleeper class); transport of passengers by air in economy class; transport of passengers with or without accompanied  belongings, by air, embarking from or terminating in a Regional Connectivity Scheme Airport;  as well as supply of tour operators’ services. There is 12 per cent GST rate levied on transport of passengers by air in other than economy class. These rates will be further subjected to vetting and would undergo some changes.

As per the March 2017 UNWTO barometer, India’s rank among International Tourist Arrivals in both 2014 and 2015 has bumped up to 24th compared to the previous rank of 41st and 40th, respectively. This is due to the inclusion of data regarding Non Residential Indian Arrivals allowing the comprehensive evaluation of India’s rank taking into account all factors. As per the UNWTO definition, International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) comprises of two components namely Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and Arrivals of Non-Resident Nationals. The UNWTO then ranks countries based upon this measure. Earlier India only compiled data on FTAs but recently has started to collect the data of Non Residential Indian arrivals. The number of ITAs in India during 2014 and 2015 were 13.11 million and 13.28 million, respectively. The number of NRI arrivals during 2014 and 2015 were 5.43 million and 5.26 million, respectively. The addition of this data is what led to the massive leap in India’s ranking. A significant jump has also been noticed in India’s rank in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index [TCCI]. India has closed down 12 places and has shifted from a rank of 52nd in 2015 to 40th in 2017.

Air India will commence non-stop flight service between Delhi and Stockholm from August 15, 2017. The flight will operate thrice a week (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) with each flight roughly having eight-hour duration. Ashwani Lohani, Chairman & Managing Director, Air India, said, “As part of Air India’s international route network expansion plans, we are happy to announce the Delhi-Stockholm direct flight from August 15, 2017. The flight will be operated thrice a week on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.” The flight will depart from Delhi at 1400 hrs (IST) and land at Stockholm at 1820 hrs (CET). The return flight will leave Stockholm at 2100 hrs (CET) and reach Delhi the next morning. “This comes at a very positive time in our relations and will continue to strengthen our partnership for the future. We appreciate the importance it will have for our bilateral relations, especially for people-to-people relations, for tourism in both directions, for students and for business and investment,” said Ann Linde, Minister for EU Affairs and Trade, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Govt. of Sweden, who is currently on a two-day visit to India. Incoming traffic from India to Sweden has grown over the years. In 2016, Sweden had 175,088 bed nights (commercial overnight stays) from India as per the statistics fromTillväxtverket (the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth) which was 128% up from the bed nights registered in 2011. “For us, India is a market with great potential for Swedish Tourism. During the last five years more and more Indians chose Sweden as their holiday destination. Beautiful nature, unique experiences such as the Northern lights, and its progressive lifestyle makes Sweden an exciting emerging destination for Indian travellers. …

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated new free Wi-Fi facility across 28 stations of Konkan Railway along with improved amenities at the Kudal and Chiplun stations. Konkan Railway has tied up with the network provider Joister to provide free Wi-Fi at its stations. Unlimited free Wi-Fi will be provided from Kolad to Madure in the initial phase with a peer to peer speed of 2 mbps. The larger stations will be able to provide access to 300 users whilst the smaller stations will be able to sustain a 100 users. The network covers the station entrance and surrounding area. The scheme has been launched in line with the Government’s Digital India campaign and Joister has undertaken the project of providing free Wi-Fi to the rural area along the Konkan route as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. According to the statement, “This facility will help commuters and tourists on Konkan Railway to access essential information and they could use their time productively while waiting for trains at railway stations.”

Indian Railways has introduced the new high speed Tejas express between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai and Karmali in Goa. The train was flagged off by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on May 22 on its inaugural journey to Goa. The train is equipped with many modern facilities such as on-board infotainment, Wi-Fi, CCTV, coffee and tea vending machines, etc. It is a state-of-the-art train with an average operating speed of 130 kmph and a maximum running speed of 200 kmph. The train sports a reasonable fare that extends between 1155-2680 inr and it will operate five times a week during the non-monsoon period and three days a week during the monsoon period. The express has also introduced some new amenities for passenger such as bio-vacuum toilets, sensor taps and a GPS-based passenger information display system and a digital destination board has also been installed for the convenience of the passengers. The train will have automatic doors and is wrapped with a special graffiti proof vinyl that gives the train its distinctive orange and yellow colour. The express train is also expected to be pressed into service in the Delhi-Lucknow and Delhi-Chandigarh sectors according to the railways.

Indonesia AirAsia Extra has started a direct flight from Mumbai to Bali (Denpasar) from May 19, 2017, with a 45 minute layover in Kuala Lumpur. It will operate this route using A330-300 with 377 seats (12 flatbeds and 365 economy seats). The flight departs from Mumbai at 22.50 hours and arrives in Bali at 10.45 hours the next day. Indonesia AirAsia Extra is the 4th airline under the AirAsia Group to operate to Indian destinations. Commenting on the occasion Suresh Nair, General Manager, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, AirAsia, said, “The flight has got good response and we are happy with the current response from Mumbai and Maharashtra market. We will have daily flights from Mumbai making seven flights a week. We expect good number of people to travel from India to Indonesia and vice versa. We started the flights with an introductory fare of Rs. 2,552 (plus taxes) which was well received by everyone. We continue to offer low fares on all sectors. Currently we are offering a return fare of Rs 14,999 and we continue to strive to keep the fares as low as possible.”

RCI recently published a new global industry white paper on the shared vacation ownership industry to help educate, inspire and support potential new entrants into the business. It is also designed to assist the media, legislators and hospitality groups to better understand the leisure real estate industry. Created to support industry growth, the Leisure Real Estate Trends & Opportunities handbook demonstrates the credibility of shared vacation ownership products and markets, helping to demystify one of the fastest-growing and established industries in the hospitality sector. “RCI has been involved in facilitating the swapping and sharing of residential leisure real estate for more than four decades,” said Dimitris Manikis, Vice President of Business Development, RCI Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We have worked with developers and investors from every walk of the hospitality and leisure real estate sectors and have seen firsthand what a resilient and robust business this is. We at RCI understand the shared vacation ownership model’s potential to grow a business base, as well as making a significant contribution to tourism revenues. For all these reasons, we felt it was important to draft a white paper that makes absolutely clear how the products work and where the opportunities lie. We see a great future for a product that offers access to a property asset – it is the perfect fit for today’s Millennial consumer mindset.” This handbook is designed to be an A-to-Z guide to the shared ownership and leisure real estate business. It contains valuable business insights into the European marketplace, as well as analysis of the global industry.