India’s tourism industry has lauded the proposed Budget allocation of ₹2,500 crores for the financial year 2020-21. Just last year India’s rankings moved up from 65 in 2014 to 34 in 2019 on Travel & Tourism Competitive Index of the World Economic Forum. However, some are hopeful, others are not.

“The development of more than 100 airports in India till the year 2025 will allow the new and offbeat destinations to emerge and grow at a faster rate. Announcing Rakhigarhi, Haryana amongst the five archaeological sites with on-site museums would also put the state of Haryana on the map of international travellers. Although a more liberal and reasonable investment and loan framework was expected from this budget, we do expect a more flexible and tolerant financial environment for smaller hospitality players to explore more growth avenues in the future.”

“As a home to young talent, the union budgetary proposal to set up an Indian Institute of Heritage puts the spotlight on the need for training and empowering talent with knowledge around archaeological disciplines. The establishment of this university can be seen as one of the many first steps of the Government in increasing contributions of academia to the sector.”

“The Indian national budget’s initiative of developing museums in five archaeological sites would aid in creating the much needed social infrastructure around these locations and boost employment opportunities as well. New properties and resorts will come up in these locations and cater to the travellers. Also, the allocation of Rs 2,500 crore for tourism promotion in this fiscal would surely give the much-needed push to the industry.”

“The Indian Union Budget 2020 largely lays emphasis on development of various sectors including transport, aviation, tourism and majorly infrastructure. The initiatives to develop 5 new smart cities as well as building archaeological sites with on-site museums will open new avenues and experiences for visitors and boost travel. With infrastructure being at the core for economic growth, we are hoping that this budget will help in creating and developing new and iconic destinations.”