‘Tourism is most pampered’

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, says that tourism is the most pampered sector by the government, as everything possible has been done for its benefit.

Nisha Verma and Manas Dwivedi

Amitabh Kant believes that tourism is one of the most “pampered sectors by the government” and that the government has created the right policy environment as far as promoting tourism is concerned. “Right from reduction of GST on hotel tariffs or reforms in the e-Visa regime, no other sector in the country has received such progressive reforms by the government. We have broken all rules of reciprocity, and have reduced visa fee for countries that charge double or thrice as much. Apart from that, we opened up new peaks so that India can become a great adventure destination. Everything possible has been done for this sector, and now the private sector should take the initiative and market India and sell packages to India in order to penetrate global markets.” He believes that tourism is essentially a private sector activity and the government, at best, can be the catalyst. Kant adds that for India to be a $5 trillion economy by 2025, the tourism sector can be a big driver of growth and jobs.