#SaveTourism, appeals trade

n solidarity with the distressed tourism industry, members of the trade conducted a peaceful drive through various cities of India on World Tourism Day to appeal to the government to provide relief.

Manas Dwivedi

A large number of tourism professionals embarked on an awareness campaign throughout the country in an attempt to bring to the public’s attention their plight. The peaceful protest with participation from over 250 people in 100 vehicles in Delhi, and groups gathering in other parts of country such as Varanasi, Khajuraho, Hyderabad, Agra, Jaipur, Nashik and Amritsar, demanded immediate remedy to help save tourism and also save lives. The demands include immediate release of SEIS benefits, collateral-free loans with low interest, moratorium benefits, concession on entry fee for monuments, national parks withdrawing road taxes on tourist vehicles, abolishment of TCS regime, and faster RT-PCR tests and results, among others.

Sharing more details, Vishal Yadav, MD, IDMS Group, said, “We flashed banners to appeal to the government and the Prime Minister to apprise them about the present condition of the industry and ask them to help save tourism and the livelihood of around 20 crore people.”

Atul Rai, MD, Ananya Tours, thanked the entire fraternity for joining in this appeal. “We were the first ones to get affected and will be the last ones to recover. So, the recovery period for us is very long compared to any other industry. Hand-holding from the government becomes really important.” The team is planning another such initiative in various parts of the country, soon.