Category Archives: Agents

Hilton Garden Inn Phuket Bangtao invites Indian travel trade partners to a webinar today at 3 pm IST to discover its offerings. Highlights include special Diwali packages with value adds, an engaging quiz and interactive Q&A with experts and exciting rewards. For more info, contact amrita.bhatia@buzztravelmarketing.com or call 9987552213.

Sanjeev Mehra, President, Skål International India, shares his perspective on the GST regime and says, “The proposed changes to GST, while positive, will not create a significant impact on the domestic and international tourism markets unless a more decisive step is taken. What our industry truly needs is one simplified GST slab for hospitality. This will bring India on par with other Asian destinations and make us more competitive globally.” He adds that post-pandemic, the domestic tourism market has grown manifold, showing an upward trend not only in travel by Indian citizens but also in attracting international guests. “A single GST slab will provide a much-needed boost to both inbound and domestic tourism, ensuring sustainable growth for the entire industry. Since travel and tourism directly contribute to the nation’s economic growth and create opportunities across various sectors, it is critical that the government prioritizes this reform. Moving towards a single GST structure for hospitality at the earliest will accelerate India’s journey towards becoming one of the world’s leading tourism destinations. The current proposals are a step in the right direction, but we must continue working towards this long-term goal for the benefit of the industry and the country,” Mehra adds.  

Speaking about the effects of the GST revision on the hotel sector, K Syama Raju, President, FHRAI, says, “We welcome the GST Council’s decision to simplify hotel room tariffs into two slabs of 5% and 12%. Reducing the tax on rooms up to ₹7,500 to 5% will make Indian hotels more affordable and attractive to both domestic and international travellers. This reform will directly boost tourism demand, increase occupancy, and encourage more spending across the hospitality value chain. As a sector that already contributes over 5% to India’s GDP and is among the largest job creators, this step will further strengthen our role in driving economic growth, generating employment for youth and women, and enhancing India’s global competitiveness. We see this as a progressive move that will help Indian tourism achieve its true potential and contribute significantly to the Government’s Vision 2047. While the hotel industry had been requesting a 5% slab with input tax credit (ITC), as is the practice in several other countries, we believe that even this initiative by the GST Council will benefit the hospitality sector substantially.”  

Sharing his views on the recently amended GST regime, Ravi Gosain, President, IATO, says, “The 5% GST on hotel room tariff of Rs 7,500 or equal is I believe a positive step for us, which will help the mid-segment tourists. Hotels will get affordable. However, keeping in mind the inflation, the threshold of Rs 7,500 should have ideally been increased to Rs 15,000 to be able to cover a wider network of travellers and not just the luxury segment. The 18% GST remains the same for hotel tariffs above Rs 7,500 so it won’t make any difference to the travellers.”  

Rajiv Mehra, General Secretary, FAITH, shared his views on the revised GST regime and said, “This reduction of GST to 5 percent from 12 percent fulfils a long-standing demand of both travel and hospitality sectors. It will not only boost demand but is also going to a huge section in the organised sector. We estimate that it will be net positive for the government as total tax collection will be equal or even higher as demand gets boosted. Coming on the heels of busy tourism season ahead, it will tremendously improve the prospects of tourism and Hospitality sector. In addition, it will lead to spike in gig hiring. We welcome and see this is as hugely positive for our sector as well as overall economy. Another demand was that on Restaurants irrespective whether it is located in a 5 star hotel or not the GST should be 5%. Also on tour operators who sell package in which all components are GST paid without any ITC, the GST should be payable on the deemed 10% mark up – 18% on this value.”  

Sharing her views on the revised GST, Arshdeep Anand, VP, ATOAI, says, “The latest GST reforms are expected to create a generally positive environment, particularly with FMCG prices likely to soften, bringing down operational overheads across industries. For adventure tourism, the impact is not direct since GST continues to be levied at 5% on packages and 18% on standalone activities. However, the sector may gain indirectly. Lower GST on fuel-related inputs and logistics & changes in GST on vehicles, may translate into more affordable transportation, while reduced FMCG and supply chain costs can ease expenses for hotels, camps, and homestays catering to travellers. Adventure operators could also see marginal savings on other consumables. Together, these factors may help reduce ancillary costs and make travel experiences more affordable, which has the potential to stimulate demand.”  

Commenting on the revised GST regime, Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Jagsons Travels, said, “Premium travel by air will get more expensive by 6% now as the same has been raised from 12 to 18%. Vehicles above 1200cc will be more expensive, as the GST has been raised from 28 to 40%, so rental taxi services not availing input credit will end up increasing the rental cost for such vehicles. Totals to the lower category has been reduced from 12 – 5%. But input tax credit has been disallowed to them. They’ll be availing a lot of input services So, depending on the size and the type of hotel, the implication will be there, and base price will increase for the consumer. The GST input credit will be disallowed for smaller hotels, particularly, which are offering it at 7500 or lower. on the higher side, it remains 18%, so there would be no change on that front. Overall. If you look at the masses, a lot of services have been reduced or made nil tax particularly for health and life insurance, GST has been reduced from 18 to nil. So that gives a lot of relief.”  

Sharing his perspective on the impact on revised GST, Santosh Sharma, Founder & CEO, BookMyJet, says, “As far as private charters are concerned, GST on buying a private jet under private category has gone up from 28% to 40%. This would definitely discourage the individual & corporate houses who are deliberating to buy their private jet under private category. Thankfully, there’s no GST implication on people who are willing to buy aircraft under NSOP category where the tax is about 5%. However, flying has increased tremendously since covid. The increase in tax, which is from 12 to 18% on business travel, will definitely discourage people from flying but people in this category wouldn’t reduce their flying cos of this. Also, the way our economy is growing and the way HNIs and corporate honchos are flying, I don’t think this additional 6% tax will hit them, because they have no choice but to pay this. As far as, premium flying is concerned, these people were already paying taxes. And in most of the airports the charges have gone up drastically. And still people are flying. So, it is natural that travellers will feel disappointed that taxes have gone higher for the luxury segments, but they have no choice but to pay the extra amount and continue to fly. I don’t think this will impact anybody except people who wanted to buy a private jet in the private category who might now think of getting their aircraft under NSOP category.”  

Amid signs of improving diplomatic ties between India and China, the travel fraternity in India expects a 20–25% increase in business from China. Ravi Gosain, President, IATO, said, “Before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, China was an important source market for Indian tourism, and we expect a gradual recovery of inbound travel from China in the coming months as direct flights resume and the e-visa process eases.” “We expect at least a 20–25% boost in tourism-related business from China within the next 12 to 18 months,” he added. According to him, tour operators are actively preparing curated itineraries, improving digital booking systems and enhancing their partnerships with Chinese counterparts to cater to the likely surge in demand.

India Cruise Forum was officially launched at ITB India in Mumbai. This multi-city B2B initiative, jointly conceptualised by STIC Travel Group and DDP Group, will connect global cruise players with India’s most dynamic travel sellers. Speaking at a panel discussion, Isha Goyal, Director & CEO, said, “Travel agents play a significant role in selling cruises. Globally, almost 70% of cruise sales is done through travel agents even in mature markets, such as the US, Australia, and Europe. It is not because cruises are difficult to sell but because there is a lot of nuanced information, and travel agents can help consumers make better choices.”