Budget Expectation 2024: Vishal Suri- Managing Director, SOTC Travel

16 Jan 2024 , 02:41 PM

SOTC Travel advocates for a muti-pronged approach. Albeit interim, the Union Budget offers significant opportunity as a growth accelerator for the travel & tourism sector – a valuable  contributor to the country’s GDP and a powerful employment engine. 

Our ask is a multi-pronged approach:
Coalesce the TCS rate on outbound tours into a single 5% slab to reduce the significant advantage enjoyed by international competitors (exempt from this levy).

Remove the deterrent to technology – in the form of the current TDS that is levied on automated bookings (self-booking tools) for internal/closed user groups such as our Business Travel platforms. This would align with the government’s commitment to ease of doing business and digital adoption, and the larger objective of building a Digital India. We are confident of the government’s continued focus on expediting infra development, especially extension of its Udan Yojana and Vande Bharat routes that ensures regional access and affordability. Connectivity to remote but viable tourism areas creates vibrant new circuits plus meaningful employment that uplifts the entire eco-system.​ Incentives that promote sustainable travel and tourism is now a critical ask as we endeavour to preserve our planet for future generations.