ETW Staff- Mumbai
With the declaration of the 16th Lok Sabha Election results on May 16, 2014, the tourism industry has every reason to be happy. For the first time in history, the government has included tourism into the core of its manifesto. The BJP Manifesto promises to focus on the five T’s namely; Tradition, Tourism, Trade, Technology and Talent to revive Brand India. With the new BJP Government the tourism industry’s is expecting a huge reform in this sector.
Veena Patil, founder and managing director, Veena World, said, “Tourism ke acche din aane wale hain (good days for tourism are here).On the result day itself, in the afternoon I had posted on FB the following ‘this was the moment I was desperately waiting for and I think we all were waiting for’. Singlehandedly, now let Narendra Modi lead us, govern our India with sincerity, honesty and capability. We now have a person who knows tourism and has converted Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch into an attractive tourism destination. Narendra Modi has already declared that, ‘this government will pay more attention to the tourism sector’. We must have a focused tourism minister who will work like a CEO, and make the sector potentially rich, more aggressive and vibrant on the world tourism map.”
Rajeev Wagle, managing director, Kuoni Travel Group India, said, “I am very happy as for the first time in history, tourism has been included in the government’s manifesto. As we all know unemployment is the main issue in India and tourism is a fuel for employment generation. Also, I am glad that the Government of India is taking various steps to boost tourism like; making the visa regime easy and increasing the number of countries for on arrival visa. If these steps are followed up with good investments by the government then nothing can stop India from becoming one of the best destinations in the world.”
Madhavan Menon, managing director, Thomas Cook (India), commented, “The new government’s pro-tourism stance is indeed welcome and its leaders recognising the powerful role of tourism in employment generation and as a growth driver, augurs well for the sector as a whole. We are hopeful of prioritisation towards key issues like safety and infrastructure; also swift implementation of the electronic travel authorisation/e-visa. Political stability coupled with focus on economic growth and social development will generate increased leisure and travel business opportunities, vital for the travel and tourism industry. Transport, especially air travel, will see positive impact and we are optimistic that it will open new avenues both within India and overseas.”
Vijay Kesavan, CEO, Musafir.com, stated, “For the growth of tourism sector in an economy, a politically stable government is crucial. With the formation of a steady government in India, we are positive to witness excellent reforms in tourism, hospitality and aviation sector in the coming times. There is a need for infrastructure enhancement, improved economy and uniform tax reforms to boost leisure and business travel within and outside the country. It’s good to see that the rupee has gained strength in the last few days and we are hopeful that it will become stronger in the coming months, fuelling the outbound travel and domestic aviation growth. This is the right time to enter the Indian travel and tourism industry and thus, perfect for a growing company like Musafir.com which plans to invest INR 100 crore in next three years.”
Rajiv Vij, MD & CEO, Carzonrent (I), said, “We would like to congratulate the new government. We are looking forward to a stable and decisive government that addresses the dominant concerns of inflation, rupee depreciation and development. We are hopeful that the government will make some favourable announcements for the organised car rental services sector benefiting the end consumer as also the service providers who are part of the necessary infrastructure of cities and are a testament to progressive development in all parts of the world.”
