Lucknow 21 Aug : The tourism industry in Uttar Pradesh is all set to receive the status of an industry.Official sources have confirmed the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given his blessing to the plan.
“A determination in principle to grant the status of an industry to the tourism and hospitality industry has been taken and an experts’ committee is weighing the advantages and disadvantages to ensure the most investor-friendly proposal is submitted to the cabinet of the state,” a government spokesman said.
The changes proposed will be included in the revised tourism policy that is currently being written.
Rajasthan has recently conferred the status of an industry to its hospitality industry.Uttarakhand, Goa, Kerala have also taken this step.
Industry leaders are of the opinion that the tourism industry could give a major boost to the economy of Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh is a leading state in terms of tourism, with 109.71 million domestic tourists and 33,737 foreign tourists in 2021.With the amount of initiatives that have been carried out in the state in the last few years in terms of tourism, the “growth is sure to be impressive”.
In citing an instance of Varanasi the spokesperson stated that more than one crore people went to Kashi in the month of “Shravan,” which is a breath-taking bit of information’.
When the Ram temple in Ayodhya is constructed the footfall is anticipated to increase exponentially.
The experts are of the opinion that industry status will make investing in the sector more straightforward, as well as making it more viable.
“Power tax and charges will be reduced dramatically once tourism is a major business in Uttar Pradesh.
It will also help make land allocation more accessible for projects in areas such as Varanasi which is extremely short of space for expansion,” said an official.
They also believe that the status of industry to the hospitality and tourism sector can aid in getting the area back on track, which has suffered a lot in the pandemic years.
“Industry status will reduce the cost of inputs for revival of resorts and hotels, which will stop loss-making entities from being shut down.In addition, it will help existing projects to re-start,” said a member of the Uttar Pradesh hotels and restaurants association.
The move will also aid in the development of homes and hotels with heritage which are a lot of which aren’t moving forward due to banks putting too many checks before granting loans.
However, in the longer run it will boost local economies as well as help to preserve the heritage of local craft, art, culture and food.
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