The concluding session, 'Meet the Minister of Tourism', at the IATO Convention brought some cheer and relief for the travel and tourism fraternity in Maharashtra. Announcing the various subsidies Chhagan Bhujbal, Minister for Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “To give a boost to the state’s tourism, the government is going to cut the number of licences required to start a restaurant with a single-window clearance. Furth
The government is also considering reducing Luxury Tax.
For bulk operators, we are announcing registration fee for buses operated in municipal areas, while hill stations will be given 50 per cent concession. Also, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will be leasing out lands to private players who are involved in infrastructure development on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. For Sindhudurg district, there shall not be any increase in water and electricity charges for the next ten years, so as to increase tourist footfall. As there is less availability of land banks, the government is working on a detailed policy, which will be announced soon.”
The session had K Sankaranarayanan, Governor, Maharashtra; Subodh Kant Sahai, Minister for Tourism, Govt of India; Ajit Singh, Minister for Civil Aviation, Govt of India; R H Khwaja, Secretary Tourism, Govt of India; Anand Kulkarni, Principal Secretary Tourism, Govt of Maharashtra; Subhash Goyal, President, IATO; Rajeev Kohli, Convention Chairman, IATO; and Lally Mathews, Co-Chairman Convention, IATO as panellists.
Sahai urged tour operators to actively participate in promoting the ‘Clean India’ campaign. He further stressed on the need for air connectivity between short-haul destinations, besides assuring support from the Central government to Maharashtra to develop cruise terminals and promoting Film Tourism.