The travel and tourism industry did not find required mention in the budget speech presented by Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament today. The tourism industry, like other industries, which was expecting some packages to sustain the business in view of the global meltdown, was disappointed at the treatment the industry got in the budget speech for 2009-10.
Industry associations and industry-watchers came out openly against the total rejection of their demands in the budget. “The budget 2009-2010 did not give the hospitality and tourism industry the importance that it deserves, especially when the country expects from our industry to generate more and more jobs and fight terrorism despite being a soft target. The industry is also one of the pillars of the Indian economy and brings in substantial gains in terms of foreign exchange, as well as employment generation. It would only be fair to expect the government to aid sectoral growth and capacity expansion, so that we can maintain the competitive edge as a cost-effective tourist destination,” said M P Purushothaman, President, Federation of Hotel |