WTTC India bats for regional council
The Association has recently formalised Southern Zone Tourism Advisory Council (SZTAC), which has got all southern states together to collectively remove impediments hindering growth of the southern region.
Easy access, state-of-the-art infrastructure, seamless travel and uniform tax structures are necessary to make India’s travel & tourism industry globally and regionally competitive
Priya Paul, Chairperson, WTTCII With SZTAC now constituted and formed, we will look forward to its missives and directives for a better tourism environment in the Southern Zone
Dipak Deva, Vice Chairperson, WTTCII The SZTAC, now formally constituted, would be chaired by the Chief Secretaries of the states in alphabetical order and by rotation
Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, and Member Secretary, SZTAC
VIVEK SETHI India
has the richest diversity in terms of tourist attractions spread across its length and breadth. But, the variations in tax structures across different states spoil the fun and act as the chief impediment to the growth of inter- state tourism. The World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) has formalised one such platform, named Southern Zone Tourism Advisory Council ( SZTAC) with the help of support received from Centre, Southern state governments and Union Territories.
“India has diverse tax regimes within the 28 states and 7 union territories despite being a single country. Luxury tax, sales tax, entry tax, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and VAT varies from state to state. This is not an impressionable draw to the traveller. In fact, easy access, state-of-the-art infra- structure, seamless travel and uniform tax structures are necessary to make India’s travel and tourism industry globally and regionally com- petitive,” said Priya Paul, Chairperson, WTTCII.
“We see a unique potential for states and union territories in the Southern Region to develop and further benefit from the opportunities of Tourism. Hence, we, at WTTCII, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the various states and UT participation, formalised SZTAC. We now urge the Southern states to join hands to strengthen this unique platform with an Industry interface and implement key policy initiatives as per the mandate of the Southern Zonal Tourism Advisory Council ( SZTAC). Going forward, we will partner with the Ministry of Tourism to form and constitute an Eastern, Northern and Western Zonal Tourism
Advisory Council,” she added.
Echoing similar sentiments, Dipak Deva, Vice Chairperson, WTTCII said, “With the SZTAC now constituted and formed, we will look forward to its missives and directives for a better tourism environment in the Southern Zone. WTTCII extends its full support to the Southern Zonal Tourism Advisory Council. WTTCII pledges to partner with the Ministry of Tourism and State governments to form more such core groups and regional councils like the SZTAC to
jointly chart a roadmap for Indian Tourism.”
The WTTCII Retreats are a unique format that brings together government and industry among other stakeholders together and brainstorm on the future of the most important industry in the Indian context.
At a WTTC India Retreat in September 2012, the SZTAC was envisaged, which then shortly got the blessings of
K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism, Government of India. Lately, SZTAC was formalised at the
recent WTTCII Retreat 2013 at Hyderabad.
Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Member Secretary to the SZTAC mentioned that the council would be chaired by the chief sec-
retaries of the states in alphabetical order and by rotation,he said.
The secretaries of Tourism and other relevant departmental secretaries, representatives from Ministries at GoI level will be co- opted and invited as and when necessary. Each state shall chair the SZTAC for the duration of a year, Kumar added.
The SZTAC will have the states of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar, Puducherry and Lakshadweep as Members. The state of Andhra Pradesh will be the first chair of the SZTAC, Kumar said.