Incredible India 3.0, policy changes and aggressive marketing needed to project India as a popular tourist destination: Niti Aayog
Greater integration between Ministry of Tourism and MEA can turn India into a top destination for medical tourism. Currently, only 6.7% of the overall foreign tourist arrivals in India are for medical purposes, says Niti Aayog
- Jun 30, 2023,
- Updated Jun 30, 2023 6:06 PM IST
With Covid behind us, the Niti Aayog has recommended a slew of measures to revive the Indian tourism Industry and enable industry stakeholders to overcome the financial woes arising out of the pandemic.
The eight measures recommended include one-time rescheduling of principal, interest dues without categorising this as restructuring, re-classification/ downgrading of assets and requirement of additional provisioning. In addition, a 12-month waiver of all statutory dues including customs, excise and license fees and increase in insurance premiums, stimulus package to provide salary support to businesses, ESI contribution deferral for 12 months and insurance corpus of ESI for wages to all covered workers have also been proposed.
Waiver and reduction of GST on products offered by the tourism sector for a 12-month period, direct cash support for the aviation sector (airlines, ground handling and airports) and waiver of parking and landing charges, short-term, interest-free or low-interest loans for rebuilding businesses by way of term loans and working capital loans have also been sought. There is also a proposal to create a separate tourism fund under the aegis of Ministry of Tourism, accessible to the industry as a collateral free, 10-year loan, with a moratorium of two years and minimal rate of interest to support businesses.
The strategy paper further said that medical value travel (the official term for medical tourism) holds tremendous potential for India, which ranks tenth out of 46 major medical tourism destinations in the world. In terms of medical expenses, India is more competitive than Singapore, Thailand and Brazil. Medical treatment is significantly cheaper in India as compared to the U. and other developed countries.
However, the Niti Aayog feels that there needs to be greater integration between Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of External Affairs for the purpose of branding and marketing of medical tourism in India as only 6.7 per cent of the overall foreign tourist arrivals are for medical purposes.
As a pre-budget suggestion to Ministry of Tourism mentioned in the strategy paper, Niti Aayog has said that a Rs 500-crore fund invested in easily retractable Government Bonds or securities by the Ministry of Tourism, with another Rs 100 crore invested every year for next 20-30 years, will help sustain the industry in case of another unprecedented crisis.
The think-tank as also suggested a new ‘Incredible India 3.0’ campaign that focuses on top volume-generating geographies and key source markets such as - USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia and Japan for the next five years.
With Covid behind us, the Niti Aayog has recommended a slew of measures to revive the Indian tourism Industry and enable industry stakeholders to overcome the financial woes arising out of the pandemic.
The eight measures recommended include one-time rescheduling of principal, interest dues without categorising this as restructuring, re-classification/ downgrading of assets and requirement of additional provisioning. In addition, a 12-month waiver of all statutory dues including customs, excise and license fees and increase in insurance premiums, stimulus package to provide salary support to businesses, ESI contribution deferral for 12 months and insurance corpus of ESI for wages to all covered workers have also been proposed.
Waiver and reduction of GST on products offered by the tourism sector for a 12-month period, direct cash support for the aviation sector (airlines, ground handling and airports) and waiver of parking and landing charges, short-term, interest-free or low-interest loans for rebuilding businesses by way of term loans and working capital loans have also been sought. There is also a proposal to create a separate tourism fund under the aegis of Ministry of Tourism, accessible to the industry as a collateral free, 10-year loan, with a moratorium of two years and minimal rate of interest to support businesses.
The strategy paper further said that medical value travel (the official term for medical tourism) holds tremendous potential for India, which ranks tenth out of 46 major medical tourism destinations in the world. In terms of medical expenses, India is more competitive than Singapore, Thailand and Brazil. Medical treatment is significantly cheaper in India as compared to the U. and other developed countries.
However, the Niti Aayog feels that there needs to be greater integration between Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of External Affairs for the purpose of branding and marketing of medical tourism in India as only 6.7 per cent of the overall foreign tourist arrivals are for medical purposes.
As a pre-budget suggestion to Ministry of Tourism mentioned in the strategy paper, Niti Aayog has said that a Rs 500-crore fund invested in easily retractable Government Bonds or securities by the Ministry of Tourism, with another Rs 100 crore invested every year for next 20-30 years, will help sustain the industry in case of another unprecedented crisis.
The think-tank as also suggested a new ‘Incredible India 3.0’ campaign that focuses on top volume-generating geographies and key source markets such as - USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia and Japan for the next five years.