The Road Ahead

PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL, UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR CULTURE & TOURISM, IN CONVERSATION WITH AMIT DIXIT

- AMIT DIXIT

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been very hard on the travel and tourism industry. how do you see the industry recovering? Overall, the industry will recover in a phased manner over a period of time. Having said that, domestic tourism will recover faster than international tourism. And in domestic tourism, for all the reasons that we very well know, city tours and day-drive tours will be the first to recover. Domestic hotels will unlock the opportunity from the drop in international tourism. This will be typical globally, where the travel will be domestic primarily in the form of driving trips which offer safety, hygiene, clean air and water. International tourism is very difficult to predict; it will depend on how the foreign governments react in terms of allowing their citizens to leave their shores to distant lands. The Investment promotion Corporations of various states will do their job and the Trade fair promotion board will ride with them for sure; and the tourism industry can support them if they end up attracting international footfalls. Quarantines are not going to go away. Safety, hygiene and security will be the path to recovery.

Does the ministry of Tourism have any plans to help ease the pain? any special incentives/schemes for the tourism industry?