New Delhi, July 06: The hospitality and travel
industry players expressed disappointment after the General
Budget 2009-10 announcements, with the sector not even finding
a mention in the Finance Minister`s speech.
Some industry officials, however, said that overall
thrust on India`s infrastructure development may benefit the
sector indirectly.
"The Budget did not give the hospitality and tourism
industry the importance that it deserves, specially when the
country expects our industry to generate more and more jobs,"
Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India
(FHRAI) President M P Purushothaman said.
He said there is nothing in the Budget to aid sectoral
growth and capacity expansion for "us to maintain the
competitive edge as a cost effective tourist destination."
Individual hotel players also expressed the same view.
"The overall budget is extremely balanced but as an
industry it is disappointing for us. We had expected
incentives in the form of tax benefits... we had demanded that
service tax be completely abolished. That has not happened,"
Bharat Hotels Ltd Chairperson and MD Jyotsna Suri said.
"It is a disappointment, but the Finance Minister`s
announcement to allocate more on infrastructural development
will benefit us indirectly," she added.
The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) also
expressed unhappiness over the Budget.
"Not a single item regarding the sector has been
addressed. There is no mention of export industry status for
hospitality and tourism, no tax holiday as demanded, no
rationalisation of Section 80 HHD of the Income Tax Act under
which travel operators could invest their savings in the
industry," TAAI President Rajji Rai said.
"The travel industry is one of the biggest employers. The
government must wake up to the harsh reality that the
precursor to economic revival is the tourism sector," Rai
added.
Bureau Report
