Maharashtra tourism revamped

Aaditya Thackeray, Cabinet Minister, Tourism and Environment, Government of Maharashtra, says that though the sector has been ignored in the past, he wishes to turn the tables and allow for opportunities of growth and development. The young minister has already initiated steps that would benefit the sector, the state, and its people.

Nisha Verma

Aaditya Thackeray, who took his ministerial seat only in December 2019, used the time of lockdown to look within the sector and bring about policy changes accordingly. “I thought we could spend the first few months of lockdown in terms of changing and bettering our policies, looking at ourselves internally, and what better we could do as a department for the whole sector of tourism, travel and hospitality,” he says.

“One of the most important things that we have done at this time of COVID was to give the hospitality sector the status of being an industry, which would be applicable from April 1. It was being discussed and debated for the last 30-40 years, but hadn’t happened yet. We effectively passed a cabinet note to that effect and brought out a GR. This means that all the other rates in terms of our tax and electricity would be given as per the industry. I think that was one of the biggest achievements for us as a team,” the minister adds. Another achievement Thackeray says he is proud of is that as a team, they have made a bridge between the hospitality sector and the department, which has resulted in ease of doing business. “When we started off, we had about 70 applications, 70 licences and 15 NOCs.When we started exploring it, we had about 8-9 different departments of the government sitting together and discussing the need for a particular provision. In one of our meetings with the hospitality industry, we decided to move towards licence removal, analysing what is still applicable and what’s not. After that we brought down the number of applications from 70 to 8, licences from 70 to 10, and we brought down 15 NOCs to 9 self-certifications, which are in effect from now on. Other than that, the unified development control and promotion regulations (DCR) has been established, which has given many benefits to the hospitality sector. There are also active discussions with the urban development department in terms of parking use in Mumbai, mixed-use policy for hotels—residential/commercial in cities like Mumbai, Pune, etc.,” he shares.

Tourism a priority

Talking about promotions, he says that both he and the CM have been focusing on tourism. “It’s when this segment prospers that we will have many other things prospering because of the ancillary industries and supply chain that it supports. Even after COVID, the bounce back has largely been in this sector. It’s about time that we look at Maharashtra as a state for experiential tourism, because we have everything for tourism. We really want this to be a priority department and see growth in this sector. I am personally available if restaurants, hotels, travel and tourism want to remove any hurdles that might come in their way because we want to develop this sector across the state,” he reveals.

Creating a tourism vibe

Sharing that there is a need to create a tourism vibe in places they want to develop as tourist destinations,  Thackeray says, “Any tourism destination either has something great to do – a great location, beach, castle, fort, etc. – or is a place where one has absolutely nothing to do around, but is able to pull people owing to a luxurious resort, hotel, etc. I think what remains between the two is a complete vibe that we need to create in terms of skilling, and that’s where the whole sector of tourism comes in. With one in place, the other will come automatically. Hence, we need to look at this vibe creation, which is crucial,” the state tourism minister reiterates.

Thackeray reveals that for Mumbai, they are creating points of tourism that have been hidden for a long time, be it the municipal corporation headquarter, which offers a jaw-dropping experience, or the Wankhede Stadium, which will be opened for a stadium experience. These developments are expected to give a boost to tourism. He concludes, saying, “Wherever we can support the industry and save it from a fall post an exponential rise, we will stand by it and this is my assurance as an industry colleague.”

Developments led by Thackeray

• Maharashtra’s hospitality sector to be ‘industry’ effective April 1, 2021
• For hotels, number of applications brought down from 70 to 8 and licences from 70 to 10
• For hotels, 15 NOCs done away with and instead, 9 self-certifications introduced
• Unified development control and promotion regulations established
• Ongoing discussions on mixed-use policy for hotels
• Creation of tourism spots in Mumbai that hold potential