The hospitality industry feels dejected and is extremely disappointed with the Union Budget. Tourism contributes 7.5 per cent to India’s overall GDP and hospitality is the backbone of tourism. Hospitality is the single biggest contributor to India’s tourism GDP and its growth or decline or stagnancy directly reflects on the health of tourism in the country.
The foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism amounts to roughly 23 billion U.S. dollars and once again the largest chunk of this earning is generated by the hospitality industry.
Employment generation which is one of the focus areas for the government has the biggest support of the hospitality sector. It directly employs over 12 per cent of the Indian workforce and is one of the biggest employers of unskilled and semi-skilled labour.
According to a KPMG report, the hospitality sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.1 per cent to reach Rs 2,796.9 thousand crore in 2022. Despite having Hospitality as an asset at its disposal which can propel the country’s growth, the Government has yet again chosen to ignore its potential.
Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI)