The travel sector is going through an extremely challenging phase. The first and foremost casualty of COVID-19 was Tourism. As people continue to work from home, sell their products online and even take lectures and classes on the Internet, the one sector that remained shut throughout was Tourism. However, now with the limited domestic flights being operational, the travel and trade industry is hopeful for revival, fully understanding that the road to recovery will be a slow one. In such a scenario, the obvious sector which will pick up power in the immediate near future will be Domestic Tourism.
Keeping the same in mind, the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) is in continuous talks with Industry leaders and officials at Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Finance and Niti Aayog to help figure out a way to overcome the existing roadblock. “We have recently met up with the Honourable Minister of Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh and have laid out our requests to him. He has assured us of his complete cooperation and has guaranteed that he will look into our demands on an urgent basis with a promise to get back to us soon with a solution to the same,” said P. P. Khanna, President, ADTOI.
The fact the Tourism sector was completely ignored and overlooked in the Bailout Package announced by the government, ADTOI has not lost hope and has reached out to the Ministry with the following demands –
- ADTOI requests Government to make 2020-21 Year of Domestic Tourism
- Set up a National Tourism Task Force on Domestic Tourism
- There should be Comprehensive Study on Domestic Tourism
- ADTOI / MOT approved Tour Operators to do LTA / LTC packages
- Tax Free Holidays on Domestic Tourism
- Moratorium on Interest charges
