The travel and tourism industry is an integral pillar of the “Make in India” program. The sector plays a significant role as an economic multiplier in creating jobs at a rapid rate. The travel sector has substantial sectoral output in MSME, having participants from the most prominent cities to the small towns and villages and the grassroots. Numerous initiatives are taken by the Government of India, like the National skills development program, SEIS (Service Exports from India Scheme), and MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions), which have led to substantial job creation at the ground level. With the implementation of SEIS, India generated export revenue from tourism of approximately Rs 1,95,000 crore in 2018. In 2019, the total foreign exchange revenue was over Rs 2,13,000 crore.
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2019, India generated about 5.6 percent of total export revenue. The sector employs nearly 40 million people and SEIS has immensely helped India’s tourism exports on several fronts. The incentives offered under SEIS have given scope for offering packages at competitive prices and attracting more visitors to the country.
IATA’s Senior Vice President E.M. Najeeb was of the view that the tourism industry has made a continued effort of requesting the government to release the SEIS under Foreign Trade Policy. “The interim order was passed by Justice PV Asha on the petition filed by Kerala Travel Mart Society (KTM) and On 9th April 2021, Kerala High court has given the order stating that the Govt. should disperse new policy within 2 months time and it should be announced,” he said.
However, since the pandemic has hit, the government has been ignoring the tourism industry. The tourism industry is undergoing one of its biggest existential crises. Spinning under the pandemic’s colossal blow, nearly 30% of inbound tour operators in India may shut their shops permanently; however, this figure could be as much as 60 to 70% as per some estimates. With restrictions on international travels and no tourism in the country, there have been severe effects on the revenues of tour operators. The revenues have choked and the tour operators and travel companies are seeking relief from the government in the form of re-implementation of SEIS. Continuation of SEIS can bring some immediate relief to the tour operators and millions of jobs could be saved as soon as covid-19 subsides.
