Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Finance Minister, presented the much-anticipated Union Budget for the current fiscal year. She announced and laid out several plans to boost many industries, including tourism.
The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 had the greatest impact on the travel and tourism industry, as there were several travel restrictions. After years of uncertainty, one of the key focuses of this year’s budget was tourism, which will be a welcome relief to the industry.
Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a nearly one-and-a-half-hour speech in which she announced the Dekho Apna Desh scheme, which is an application that will be launched that will provide all relevant aspects of the tourist destination. This will include physical and virtual connectivity, tourist guides, high food street standards, and tourist safety.
Dekho Apna Desh will also select a minimum of 50 tourist destinations in India through a challenge mode, employing an integrated and innovative approach that will be developed as a complete tourism package. Furthermore, both domestic and foreign tourists will be targeted.
“The country offers an immense attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists,” the Finance Minister said during the announcement of the Union Budget 2023-24. Tourism has significant untapped potential. The sector provides numerous job and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people.”
“States would be encouraged to establish such Unity Malls in the capital city or most prominent tourism center or financial capital, as well as provide space for ODOPs and GI products from other states,” she added.
The “Swadesh Darshan Scheme” was introduced to integrate the development of theme-based tourist circuits, while the “Dekho Apna Desh initiative” was introduced as an appeal by the prime minister to the middle class to favor domestic tourism over international tourism, according to Nirmala Sitharaman.0
Tourism will also be encouraged in border villages as part of the Vibrant Villages Programme, and tourism infrastructure and amenities will be improved.
Stay tuned for more information.
