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Rajan Sehgal, Chairman, TAAI- Northern Chapter, has a stern opinion on Union Budget. “For the last so many years, there has been no mention of tourism. This time as well, tourism was mentioned only for two minutes. We cannot think of growth and promotion of tourism internationally without having our house in order. No monument in India is of international standard, and people only know of the Taj Mahal, which is the only monument we can sell, which too is not tourism friendly.” On how the Budget ignored the inbound sector, Sehgal says, “Tourism brings in foreign exchange as well as creates employment. Very cleverly, the government has seen outbound tourism where they have seen two crore people are travelling, and thus they should come in the tax bracket. But they have not emphasised on inbound, which would bring the foreign exchange. They are just trying to collect tax, but they have not understood the potential of tourism. We have to have direct interaction with the Prime Minister’s Office. Tourism needs to be a very easy industry, and the tax should be simplified in this sector. Other countries follow this and are booming.”

Sarab Jit Singh, Vice-Chairman, FAITH, appreciated the Finance Minister for taking cognizance of FAITH’s recommendations. “The positive in today’s budget is acceptance and announcement by the Finance Minister of creating five special tourism zones, which was FAITH’s recommendation. Secondly, the announcement for Incredible India branding to be relaunched internationally and 35 per cent increase for its allocation is also a positive from our perspective,” he says. He goes on to explain the flip side. “The negative point according to me is the fact that the government is saying that exports are going down. However, tourism is the only industry which can now bring foreign exchange and generate employment, and the only incentives we were getting from were from the Ministry of Commerce, whose total allocation in the budget has now been reduced. Thus, it is a counterproductive feature. If the government wants to increase imports and wants growth, they cannot have lesser allocation for commerce ministry.” He contemplates on the status of tourism industry post this budget and says, “Tourism in the country is not growing for many years. We have lost for decades together; we have lost marketplace completely internationally; as well as we have lost to competing countries. Until the government moves all the aspects together with full force, we will not have results. I agree that the Prime Minister should talk to the industry directly.”

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting Budget 2017-18 announced that the government will establish five special tourism zones in the next financial year. “Tourism is a big employment generator and has a multiplier impact on the economy. Five special tourism zones anchored on SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) will be set up in partnership with the states,” Jaitley said on Wednesday. Other key takeaways for the tourism industry with respect to the Railway Budget are dedicated tourism/pilgrimage trains, 500 stations to be made differently-abled friendly, Coach Mitra facility to be introduced and bio-toilets for all coaches by 2019, offer competitive ticket-booking facility and no service charge for tickets booked on IRCTC, and new metro rail policy to be announced soon. In a boost to infrastructure development, Jaitley announced allocation of Rs 64,000 crore for national highways. He also announced Rs 2 trillion for transport sector. Jaitley has also announced that Head Post Offices will now be used as the front office for passport services.

Albert Tjoeng, Assistant Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific at International Air Transport Association (IATA),  takes heart from the Union Budget. “The Finance bill 2017 has added new provisions for the future introduction of submission of PNR data by airlines to the Indian Customs, he says. He adds that IATA hopes that the established global standards for transmission of PNRGOV data would be adhered to. “We would also urge that stakeholder consultations precede the development of any regulations detailing the form and data elements for this information,” he concludes.

Vikram Madhok, Managing Director, Abercrombie & Kent India, says that the budget really has not taken tourism into much consideration. “Yes, a lot has been said about the railways in the budget and we welcome any other infrastructure investment, but there is not much that is going to help the industry directly. This year’s budget has nothing much for tourism,” he added.

IATO President Pronab Sarkar says budget did not give any encouragement to the tourism industry. “There was no mention of the tourism industry, and no benefits or plus points were announced. Apart from speaking about five tourism circuits and second phase of the Incredible India campaign, nothing else was mentioned.” Detailing their expectations and the disappointment that followed, Sarkar says, “We were expecting e-visa changes to be applicable, which were announced in December. The Prime Minister is talking about branding India and mentioning tourism amongst the five pillars, but no one has looked into the prospects of this Industry. Thus, the government needs to be sensitised. As association, we tried seeking appointment with him and did write to him on Twitter, but haven’t heard from anyone as yet.”

P.P. Khanna, President, ADTOI, says, “The Union Budget didn’t directly focus on tourism, but was more directed at the rural sector, youth and infrastructure. However, there was a mention of the Global Incredible India campaign. Also, the proposal of developing India International Institutes for foreign languages would really benefit the tourism industry, and would offer employment to almost 1 lakh students graduating from these institutes every year. The dedication towards Clean India and Skill India would also result in a boost to tourism and creating employment in this sector, and boosting domestic tourism.” He highlighted another positive which is the waiving off of Service Charge on IRCTC bookings. “The focus on rural tourism might lead to better infrastructure and education in these areas, which in turn would help bring tourists to these areas as well. However, the effect of all these things would only be seen in three to five years.”

Etihad Airways has announced a third daily flight on the Abu Dhabi – Bengaluru route, effective March 26, 2017. The triple daily schedule will provide greater choice to local passengers travelling between the two cities, and improved connectivity to destinations across the GCC, North America and Europe via the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub.The capacity increase underscores the airline’s commitment to offer guests more travel options between Abu Dhabi and key destinations across its network. With a new daily late night departure from Abu Dhabi, and early morning service from Bengaluru operated with a two-class Airbus 321, the schedule provides additional online connectivity to and from a number of destinations, including Doha, Jeddah, London, Dublin, New York and Dallas. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our expanded services between Abu Dhabi and Bengaluru are in line with Etihad Airways’ strategy to offer greater travel options when aircraft availability and market conditions permit. “The extra flights to Bengaluru will cater to the strong demand between both cities, and bring closer our global network to and from Bengaluru over our Abu Dhabi hub.” Etihad Airways launched flights to Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, in January 2011 with four services a week, rising to daily two months later. It has steadily grown capacity with additional frequencies and aircraft upgrades to its current double daily operation. More than 700,000 guests have been flown on the route over the past six years. Partner carrier Jet Airways will codeshare on Etihad Airways’ enhanced Bengaluru services, and also offer connectivity from Bengaluru to destinations across India.

ETAA will be hosting its second domestic convention from March 3-5, near Hyderabad. The convention will be held at Leonia Resort which is one hour away from the Hyderabad airport. As of now Tourism Fiji have confirmed to be the co-sponsors for the convention and other tourism boards may soon join in. The convention will host B2B sessions, presentations from the exhibitors and sponsors showcasing new products and destinations to its members. The third day will be a optional sightseeing tour of Hyderabad which will be part of the package. Speaking on the occasion Jagat Mehta, President, ETAA said, “We want to showcase new products to our members and maximise their business possibilities so we will be having exhibitors showcasing unique products at the convention. We may also plan to keep knowledge sessions on GST and its effect on the travel industry once there is a clear picture by the government. We expect 200 plus members across the country to attend the convention.” ETAA will also be hosting knowledge sessions in Kolkata on 4th February and Hyderabad on 10th February focussing on up-selling and cross selling where professionals from the travel and trade industry will be present.

Now, passengers can select on-board entertainment in advance from the comfort of your own home with the Lufthansa Companion App. For the first time, passengers will have the option of making a selection from the on-board program from home before setting off and adding their favorite items to a playlist. The on-board program is available up to six weeks in advance. Once on board, passengers then synchronise their personal favourite playlist with the screen in front of the seat, and there is also the option to use the own mobile device as a second screen. During the flight, passengers can then choose something to watch from their favorites list, and at the same time call up flight information, go on social media websites via FlyNet, do a little online shopping in the WorldShop, or find out a few things about the destination they are heading for.