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Green, and digital tourism will be the government’s key focus areas over the next decade, as per the draft National Tourism Policy. Besides, the government has also identified factors that hamper the growth of the tourism sector in the country. These include ‘perceptions related to safety and security’, and weak engagement between the Centre and the states. Steps will be taken to address these issues, say officials from the Ministry of Tourism.
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The draft National Tourism Policy, that was readied last week, also mentions ‘the menace of touts’ and ‘low standards of cleanliness and hygiene’ as other factors that deter the industry from leveraging its full potential. Along with that, significantly, to promote investment in the tourism sector, the document mentions granting of industry status to the sector, along with formally granting infrastructure status to hotels.
As per the document, five key areas would be given significant focus in next 10 years — green tourism, digital tourism, destination management, skilling the hospitality sector and supporting tourism-related MSMEs. The draft has been sent to the industry partners, state governments, other allied ministries for feedback, before it is sent for approval, officials privy to the draft proposals say.
While the consultations regarding the policy were going on since 2014-15, it is only in the wake of the pandemic that the need for a well-thought-out policy was felt for the sector, officials said. The industry, which has been the worst sufferer over the last two years of the pandemic, had sent multiple representations to the government representatives for relief measures as well as taxation breaks.
“The draft policy doesn’t deal with specific operational issues, but offers framework conditions to help the sector, especially in the wake of the pandemic,” says an official from the Ministry of Tourism, adding, “The overall mission and vision is being laid out to improve the experience of tourists, foreign as well as local.”
About 21.5 million people working in the sector lost their jobs between April 2020 and December 2020, going by the data shared by the government in Parliament in July 2021.
Key industry body FAITH (Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality), which was part of several such stakeholder discussions with the Ministry, says the intent of the new policy is good. “However, intent is only as good as its implementation,” it says in a statement.
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