Mr. Pronab Sarkar, President & Mr. Rajiv Mehra, Vice President of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) along with Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) and Mr. P.P. Khanna, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI) met Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, to seek support from the government for survival and revival of tour operators and other stakeholders in the tourism industry.
During the meeting Mr. Sarkar, emphasised that Inbound Tour Operators who bring in foreign tourists and earn valuable foreign exchange for the country are on the verge of collapsing due to Covid-19 pandemic and need urgent help to survive as there is zero billing and consequently zero cash flow.
He sought financial support to tour operators so that tour operators do not close down and continue their business with their experience staff after the Covid – 19 is controlled and tourism is back to business, under MSME Special Non-collateral and interest free long term loans (5-10 years) to be provided to the tour operators for survival of business and aggressive marketing once tourism is back to business. In addition IATO sought an increase in incentive offered in Service Export from India Scheme (SEIS) from 7% to 10 % which will allow them to offer competitive packages vis-a-vis neighbouring countries.
Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog gave a very patient hearing and assured his full support to the tourism industry.
IATO and other tourism bodies sincerely hope and believe that the government would soon provide measures to mitigate the pain of the tourism industry.
