Govt's focus on providing impetus to travel, tourism sector positive move: Industry

New Delhi, Feb 1 () The Finance Minister's focus to provide impetus to the travel and tourism sector along with development of transportation infrastructure will accelerate the sector's contribution towards country's economy, according to industry players.

"Increased allocation of funds for the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture, development of financial roadmaps for tourist destinations and plans to assign specified grants for states will go a long way in accelerating the contribution of the sector towards India's economy," MakeMyTrip Co-founder and CEO-India Rajesh Magow said.

Presenting the Budget for 2020-21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said Rs 3,150 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Culture and Rs 2,500 crore for the Ministry of Tourism.

"Additionally, development of five iconic archeological sites across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu comes as a strategic step towards boosting domestic and inbound heritage tourism to these states," Magow said.

According to Thomas Cook India Chairman and MD Madhavan Menon said, "... an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation will be set up with the status of a deemed university, and this is an imperative towards education and skill development of our sector that contributes a significant 10 per cent to India's GDP".

The Union Budget intended to give impetus to the Travel and Tourism sector with the allocation of Rs 2,500 crore and equally critical allocation of Rs 1.7 lakh crore towards transportation infrastructure in 2020-21, he added.

In similar vein, ITC Ltd Executive Director and Chairman-FAITH Nakul Anand said "the allocation to develop 100 new airports by 2024 and the soon to be introduced Tejas trains for iconic destinations are advancements in modern infrastructure that augur well for Indian tourism."

InterGlobe Hotels President and CEO J B Singh said, "we are hoping that this budget will help in creating and developing new and iconic destinations, thereby redefining the tourism industry, for the better and further improve spending, domestic travel and all this will have great long term benefits for the economy".

Stating that the vision of government to invest in the tourism sector will be a great push for the hospitality sector, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels MD Vijay Dewan said: "India's heritage and culture rich experiences have always attracted tourists to the country and government's plan to develop five archaeological sites at iconic sites with on-site museums will attract more tourists from India and globally."

Sterling Holidays CMD Ramesh Ramanathan said: "We are pleased with the proposed budget, as it will play a pivotal role in the hospitality and domestic tourism sector, and will have a multiplier effect across the board."

Travel Food Services COO and Business Head Gaurav Dewan said: "The government's focus on development is clear and reinforced with the allocation of additional funds to the Airport, Railway and the Highway sectors."

This will boost business and leisure travel thereby generating employment, connectivity and overall economic development of catchment areas, he added.

"The government's push for infrastructure development by building more airports and the announcement of new Tejas trains will boost tourism outside the main centers. This, in turn, will have a positive impact on the hotel sector," Cygnett Hotels and Resorts Founder and MD Sarbendra Sarkar said.

It is heartening to see a budget that focuses on improving standards of living as well as economic development, OYO, India South Asia CEO Rohit Kapoor said. AKT DRR