Lok Sabha Question No. 1963 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-19
Subject: Revival of Tourism Sector after Pandemic
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Pratima Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1963 ANSWERED ON 19.12.2022

## REVIVAL OF TOURISM SECTOR AFTER PANDEMIC

## 1963. SHRIMATI PRATIMA MONDAL:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  revive  the  tourism sector in the post pandemic era;
- (b) the revenue generated by the tourism sector during the past five years and the current financial year; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to review the mechanisms  of  schemes  and programmes  in place for tourism industry?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM                       (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (a): The  Government  of  India has  announced  various relief measures to revive the tourism sector in the post pandemic era. The details are given at Annexure.
- (b): The  Ministry  of  Tourism,  Government  of  India  does  not maintain data on revenue generated from tourism sector. However, Foreign Exchange Earnings for the last five years are as follows:

(Rs. in Crore)

|   S. No. | Parameter                                        |   2017 |   2018 |   2019 |   2020 |   2021 |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
|        1 | Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through Tourism | 177874 | 194881 | 211661 |  50136 |  65070 |

(c): The Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme  as  Swadesh  Darshan  2.0  (SD2.0)  with  the  objective  to develop  sustainable  and  responsible  destinations  following a tourist & destination centric approach.

Inter-Ministerial Co-ordination Committee for Tourism Sector (IMCCTS) under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary has been formed  to  facilitate  resolution  of  Inter-Ministerial/Departmental issues involving the development of tourism and better connectivity  to  tourist  destinations  within  the  country.  Various Ministries  such  as:  M/o  Civil  Aviation,  M/o  External  Affairs,  M/o Home  Affairs,  M/o  DONER,  M/o  Railways,  M/o  Road  Transport  & Highway, M/o Culture/ ASI, IRCTC etc. are members therein.

In addition, Ministry of Tourism organizes National Conference of State Tourism Ministers at regular intervals in order to resolve the issues between Centre, States/UTs and other stakeholders involving the development of tourism.

Apart from above, the Ministry of Tourism has formulated a Draft National  Tourism  Policy.  The  Key  Strategic  Objectives  of  the Policy are:

- (i) To enhance the contribution of tourism in Indian economy by increasing the visitation, stay and spend and making India a year-round tourist destination.
- (ii) To create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities in tourism sector and ensure supply of skilled work force.
- (iii)   To  enhance  the  competitiveness  of  tourism  sector  and attract private sector investment.
- (iv) To preserve and enhance the cultural and natural resources of the country.
- (v) To ensure sustainable, responsible and inclusive development of tourism in the country.
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- v.

## ANNEXURE

STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1963 ANSWERED ON 19.12.2022 REGARDING REVIVAL OF TOURISM SECTOR AFTER PANDEMIC

The  following  are  the  various  relief  measures  announced  by  the Government for redeveloping post-COVID tourism sector of the country:

- i. The  Government  announced  Atmanirbhar  Bharat  Package  vide which  Rs.3.00  lakh  crore  collateral  free  automatic  loan  was made available for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).  The  loan  will  have  4-  year  tenure  and  12-month moratorium.
- ii. Under  Atmanirbhar  Bharat  package,  PF  contribution  of  both employer and employee was reduced to 10% each from existing 12% each for all establishments covered by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for three months.
- iii. Return filing deferred for three months with no penal interest for companies up to Rs.5.00 Crore, rest @ 9% penal interest.
- iv. The Government waived off PF contribution for three months for organisations with less than 100 pax and 90% of their employees
5. earn below Rs.15000.
6. Deferment of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) up to October 2020.
- vi. The Central government also gave relief from various regulatory compliances under  Income  Tax  Act,  companies  Act  and  Goods and  Service  Tax  (GST)  Act  for  varying  period  in  the  wake  of COVID-19 crisis to ensure business continuity and survival.
8. vii.
9. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was launched in May, 2020 as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan to support eligible  Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (MSMEs)  and business enterprises in  meeting  their  operational  liabilities  and restarting  their  businesses.  Under  the  scheme,  100%  credit guarantee  is  extended  to  the  lending  institutions  for  loans extended by them under the scheme to eligible borrowers. The admissible guarantee limit under the scheme has been increased from  Rs.  4.5  lakh  crore  to  Rs.  5  lakh  crore,  with  the  additional guarantee  cover  of  Rs.  50,000  crore  earmarked  exclusively  for the  Hospitality  and  related  enterprises  including  Civil  Aviation sector.As  per  inputs  received  from  National  Credit  Guarantee

Trustee  Company  Limited  (NCGTC),  the  agency  operating  the scheme, under ECLGS total 203180 guarantees amounting to a sum of Rs. 22015.82 crore have been issued to Travel, Tourism, Hotel, Restaurant etc. The detail is given below:

ECLGS  data  on  Hospitality  and  related  enterprises  Sector  as  on 30.11.2022

| ECLGS - TRAVEL AND TOURISM DATA       | ECLGS - TRAVEL AND TOURISM DATA       | ECLGS - TRAVEL AND TOURISM DATA       |
|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| Scheme Type                           | No of Guarantees Issued               | Loan Amount Guaranteed (Rs. in Cr)    |
| ECLGS 3.0                             | 2943                                  | 1935.80                               |
| ECLGS 3.0 EXTENSION                   | 668                                   | 393.12                                |
| TOTAL                                 | 3611                                  | 2328.94                               |
| ECLGS - HOTELS, RESTAURANTS ETC. DATA | ECLGS - HOTELS, RESTAURANTS ETC. DATA | ECLGS - HOTELS, RESTAURANTS ETC. DATA |
| Scheme Type                           | No of Guarantees Issued               | Loan Amount Guaranteed (Rs. in Cr)    |
| ECLGS 3.0                             | 3486                                  | 6197.5                                |
| ECLGS 3.0 EXTENSION                   | 1336                                  | 2468                                  |
| ECLGS 2.0                             | 219                                   | 3437.11                               |
| ECLGS 2.0 EXTENSION                   | 4                                     | 34.47                                 |
| ECLGS 1.0                             | 96740                                 | 3674.72                               |
| ECLGS 1.0 EXTENSION                   | 97784                                 | 3875.08                               |
| TOTAL                                 | 199569                                | 19686.88                              |
| Grand Total                           | 203180                                | 22015.82                              |

- viii. On 28 th  June 2021, the Government  announced  a stimulus package to boost diverse sectors of economy affected by COVID19  pandemic  and  provide  impetus  for  growth  and  employment measures.  The  package  comprises  a  total  of  17  measures  in three  broad  categories,  which included  'Economic  relief  from
2. Pandemic, with special focus on health and reviving travel and tourism sectors' and 'Impetus for Growth and employment'.
- ix. Ministry of Tourism launched 'Loan Guarantee Scheme for Covid Affected  Tourism  Service  Sector  (LGSCATSS) ',  which  aims  at extending collateral free loan to the distressed tourism sector to help  them  discharge  their  liabilities  and  restart  their  business affected due to Covid-19 pandemic under this scheme, collateral free  Loan  upto  Rs.10.00  lakh  each  may  be  availed  by  MoT approved Tour operator/Travel Agents/Tourist Transport Operators and upto Rs.1.00 lakh each may be availed by RLGs/IITGs  approved  by  MoT  and  Tourist  Guides  approved  by State  Government/UT  Administration. The  scheme  is  already operational through 18 Scheduled Commercial Banks. Validity of the  scheme  has  been  extended  by  one  more  year  i.e.  till 31 st  March,  2023  or  till  the  guarantee  of  Rs.  250.00  crore  are issued under the scheme.
- x. With a view to prepare for a post-COVID 19 revival, the Ministry has  formulated  and  issued  detailed  operational  guidelines  for Covid safety and hygiene for hotels, restaurants, B&Bs/Homestays and Tourism Service Providers on 08.06.2020 to facilitate smooth resumption of business.
- xi. An initiative called SAATHI (System for Assessment, Awareness &  Training  for  Hospitality  Industry)  has  been  developed  for effective implementation of Guidelines/SOPs issued with reference to COVID-19 and beyond for safe operations of Hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and other units.
- xii. Validity of approval or certification of hotels and other accommodation  units  whose  project  approval/re-approval  and classification/re-classification have expired/were likely to expire was extended up to 31 st  March 2022
- xiii. With an aim to incentivize stakeholders in the Tourism industry, the Guidelines for the scheme of Market Development Assistance (MDA)  for  providing  financial  support  to  stakeholders  for  the promotion of Domestic Tourism have been modified to enhance the scope and reach of the scheme, so as to provide maximum benefits  to  the  stakeholders.  Additional  promotional  activities have  been  incorporated  including  online  promotions  and  the extent  of  financial  assistance  permissible  has  been  enhanced. The Guidelines of the Marketing Development Assistance Programme under the Overseas Promotion and Publicity Scheme has  been  modified  to  enhance  the  scope  and  reach  of  the
8. scheme, so as to provide maximum benefits to the stakeholders in the tourism industry.
- xiv. For  the  purpose  of  restarting  inbound  tourism  and  attracting foreign  tourists  in  the  country,  Government  of  India  extended first  5  lakh  visas  to  the  foreign  tourists  from  potential  tourism markets, free of cost. The benefit of free of charge visa will be available only once per tourist during the issuance of the first 5 lakh tourist visas.
- xv. Owing to the situation which arose out of COVID19 pandemic, Ministry  of  Tourism  in  consultation  with  Ministry  of Health  &  Family  Welfare  issues  guidelines/directions  to  the Tourism Stakeholders, Hotels and Restaurants to facilitate smooth resumption of business.
- xvi. Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  restored  e-Tourist  Visa  for  foreign nationals  of  156  countries  w.e.f.  15 th  March,  2022. Also, after having  recognized  the  increased  vaccination  coverage  across the globe and in consultation with the stakeholders, the Government of India resumed scheduled commercial international  passenger  services  to/from  India w.e.f.  27 th  March, 2022.

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