Other suggestions

The delegation also spoke to the government about deferring of TCS entirely, which is a long-standing demand of the entire industry. It also delved on the topic of reduction of GST, especially for hotels, as customers travelling now may not necessarily be as economically sound as they were earlier, owing to the crisis, but would be looking to travel in a safe environment.

of these guides are sitting at home as they don’t have anything to do; they are freelancers and are not employed by any tour company. Hence, we have requested the government to consider the possibility of virtual tours, wherein the tour guide can go to tourist places or monuments and guide people around virtually, instead of having them physically travel to these places. They can take a group live in small batches, on any one of the digital platforms available.”

When asked about the minister’s response on the suggestions, Pittie said, “The Ministry is already working on suggestions given by us and other stakeholders. We must keep our faith in the government that they would do something good. The focus is on domestic tourism currently. In fact, we were called by the MOT to have a meeting with the Minister, and this is one of their own initiatives to understand the real pain of the end user. We should appreciate this.”