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“If the government is serious, they have the balance sheet of all tour operators who have honestly being paying taxes for such a long time. Based on the before Covid-19 balance sheet, they can give an interest-free loan, repayments of which should start only one year after international borders are opened. Similarly based on this, the government can pay at least 50 percent of the staff/workers’ salaries of these companies.

“Before talking about loans, government should first pay the SEIS [Service Exports from India Scheme] amount which is legally long overdue and then talk about interest free loans.”

TAAI speaks out

Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) had expected the government to take its suggestions into consideration for more direct relief for its member stakeholders. In this way, it would support and encourage all stakeholders, rather than limiting it to the 904 travel and tourism stakeholders registered with the Ministry of Tourism (MOT).

Despite the fact that TAAI has been recommending over the years that its members register with the MOT over the years, the process is tedious and requires a lot of documentation, which discourages the ease of doing business.

Jyoti Mayal, President of TAAI, stated that they expected much more than what was announced. However, they believe the relief has focused more on domestic and inbound travel and only those registered with Ministry of Tourism. She said it is pertinent to note that with over 3,000 members of TAAI alone, only those registered with MOT shall benefit. Mayal said TAAI’s members have applied for MOT recognition, but due to the pandemic, over 200 have still not been approved. Most of the members engaged in domestic tourism are registered with state tourism agencies with specific concentration to their regions. The outreach of this relief is, therefore, minuscule.

Adding to that, TAAI Vice President Jay Bhatia stated that TAAI appreciates that finally the government has recognized its trade activities, but the impact of this relief shall not be overall. Less than 10 percent of the actual stakeholders shall benefit from the government’s package. To widen the scope of this relief, the Hon. Finance Ministry (FM) must include those registered under micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Many of the member agencies are involved in airline ticketing and outbound activity apart from servicing domestic and inbound travel and tourism. This is the largest service sector in India, generating over 9 percent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing over 10 percent of the workforce. TAAI ensures that travel and tourism to and from India is promoted to generate bi-lateral trade around the world, stated Bettaiah Lokesh, Hon. Secretary General of TAAI.