Lok Sabha Question No. 904 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-12
Subject: Plan to Make India a Favourite Tourist Destination
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Ramesh Bidhuri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.904 ANSWERED ON 12.12.2022

## PLAN TO MAKE INDIA A FAVOURITE TOURIST DESTINATION

## 904.  SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has formulated any plan to make India a favourite Tourist Destination of the world in the coming years;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  for  reviving  the tourist industry of the country post Covid era; and
- (d)
- if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM

(SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

- (a) & (b): The Ministry  of  Tourism  has  taken  several  steps  over  the years to provide a better experience for the tourists and to make India a favourite tourist destination of the world in the coming years as per details given below:
- i. Swadesh Darshan Scheme for the development of tourism related infrastructure in the country.
- ii. National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme for integrated development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
- iii. Adopt  a  Heritage  Project  for  development  and  maintenance  of tourist  amenities  at  heritage  sites/monuments and other tourist sites.
- iv.
- 24x7 toll free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline.

## ANSWER

- v. Providing facility of e-Visa for 5 sub-categories i.e. e-Tourist visa, e-Business visa, e-Medical visa, e-Medical Attendant visa and eConference visa for nationals of 156 countries.
- vi. E-Visa  has  been  further  liberalized  and  the  visa  fee  has  been substantially reduced.
- vii. Incredible  India  Tourist  Facilitator  Certification  Programme,  a digital initiative that aims at creating an online learning platform with the objective of creating a pool of well trained professional tourist facilitators across the country to assist tourists.
4. Conducting Programmes under the 'Capacity Building for Service -grade  manpower  to
- viii. Providers'  (CBSP)  Scheme  to  train  and  up provide better service standards.
- ix. New mountain peaks have been opened for Mountaineering/Trekking  to  give  boost  to  adventure  tourism  in the country.
- x. Lowering of GST on hotels rooms with tariffs of ₹ 1,001 to ₹ 7,500/night  to  12%,  those  above ₹ 7,501  to  18%  to  increase India's competitiveness as a tourism destination.
- xi. On  the  recommendation  of  the  Ministry  of  Tourism,  59  tourism routes  have  been  awarded  to  the  identified  airlines  by  the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the RCS UDAN Scheme, for which Ministry  of  Tourism  extends  financial  support  in  form  of  VGF (Viability Gap Funding). 51 of these routes have been operationalized till date.
9. (c) & (d): The details of various fiscal and non-fiscal relief measures announced by the Government of India, which are  expected  to  revive the tourism in the country are given below:
- 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 earn below Rs.15000.
- v. Deferment of Tax Collected as 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.
- vii. The Government announced the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 3.0 on 31.3.2021 to support eligible Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (MSMEs)  and  business enterprises in meeting their operational liabilities and restarting their business. The scope of the scheme was enlarged to cover business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism and Leisure & Sporting sectors. Provision of additional corpus of Rs. 50,000 crores had also been made for hospitality sector. The validity of ECLGS (ECLGS 1.0, ECLGS 2.0 & ECLGS 3.0) had been extended till  31.03.2023  or  till  guarantees  for  an  amount  of  Rs.5.00  lakh crores  are  issued. The  details  of  guarantees  issued  under  the scheme are given below:
- 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 Pandemic, with special focus on health and reviving travel and tourism sectors' and 'Impetus for Growth and employment'.
- ix. 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.
- x. 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.
- xi. 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.
- xii. Owning 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.
- xiii. Ministry of Tourism is running the "Loan Guarantee Scheme for Covid  Affected  Tourism  Service  Sector  (LGSCATSS)",  under which, loan upto Rs.10.00 lakh is  extended  to  each  Tour

| Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Data As on 30-06-2022   | Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Data As on 30-06-2022   | Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Data As on 30-06-2022   | Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Data As on 30-06-2022   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Industry Nature                                                                                   | ECLGS Scheme                                                                                      | No of Guarantees Issued                                                                           | Loan Amount Guaranteed (Rs. In Cr)                                                                |
| Hotel,                                                                                            | ECLGS 1.0                                                                                         | 96734                                                                                             | 3668.59                                                                                           |
| Restaurants,                                                                                      | ECLGS 1.0                                                                                         | 1041                                                                                              | 202.13                                                                                            |
| Total                                                                                             |                                                                                                   | 97775                                                                                             | 3870.72                                                                                           |
| Hotel,                                                                                            | ECLGS 2.0                                                                                         | 219                                                                                               | 3421.46                                                                                           |
| Restaurants, Tourism                                                                              | ECLGS 2.0 EXTENSION                                                                               | 4                                                                                                 | 34.47                                                                                             |
| Total                                                                                             |                                                                                                   | 223                                                                                               | 3455.93                                                                                           |
| Travels and                                                                                       | ECLGS 3.0                                                                                         | 2926                                                                                              | 1880.57                                                                                           |

| Tourism     | ECLGS 3.0 EXTENSION   |    567 |   342.67 |
|-------------|-----------------------|--------|----------|
| Total       | Total                 |   3493 |  2223.24 |
| Hospitality | ECLGS 3.0             |   3478 |  6154.45 |
|             | ECLGS 3.0 EXTENSION   |   1120 |  1781    |
| Total       | Total                 |   4598 |  7935.45 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total           | 106089 | 17485.3  |

Operators/ Travel Agents/ Tourist Transport Operators approved/recognized  by  the  Ministry  of  Tourism,  upto  Rs.1.00 lakh is extended to each Regional Tourist Guide/ Incredible India Tourist  Guide  approved/recognized  by  the  Ministry  of  Tourism and Tourist Guides approved/ recognized by the State Govt./ UT Administration. Purpose of the LGSCATSS is to provide guarantee coverage for the  loans  provided  by  the  Scheduled  Commercial  Banks  to  the above mentioned beneficiaries, to discharge their liabilities and restart their business affected due to Covid-19 pandemic. Validity of the said scheme is till 31.03.2023 or till the guarantee of  Rs.250.00  crores  are  issued  under  the  scheme,  whichever  is earlier and is applicable to all eligible loans sanctioned under the scheme on or after 04.10.2021 (issuance of LGSCATSS guidelines by NCGTC) till 31.03.2023. No guarantee fee will be charged from the Member  Lending  Institutions (MLIs) by National Credit Guarantee  Trustee  Company  Limited  (NCGTC)  for  the  credit facilities provided under the Scheme. The scheme is operational through 18 scheduled Commercial Banks.

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