Indian Union Budget 2024-25 Fails Hospitality Sector Again

The Indian Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has disappointed the hospitality sector, with a lack of substantial measures to address the fundamental challenges facing the industry. Despite the significant multiplier effect of tourism on employment and the economy, key demands from the tourism and hospitality sectors, such as GST rationalisation, infrastructure status, ease of doing business, and policy reforms, were once again overlooked in the budget.

Pradeep Shetty, President of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), expressed the industry's disappointment, stating that there is nothing "spectacular" in the budget to bring structural changes and accelerate the growth of the sector. He noted that the well-accepted multiplier effect of tourism on employment and the economy was not adequately addressed.

Kabir Suri, President of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), commended the government's efforts to boost employment and support MSMEs, but lamented the lack of recognition for the food services sector as an industry, which has prevented it from accessing the benefits of GST Input Tax Credit.

K.B. Kachru, Chairman Emeritus and Principal Advisor of the Radisson Hotel Group South Asia, and President of the Hotel Association of India (HAI), acknowledged the continued focus on infrastructural development and the emphasis on spiritual tourism, but highlighted the lack of policy changes to expedite the growth of the tourism and hospitality sectors.

The industry experts unanimously expressed their disappointment, noting that the budget has failed to address the fundamental challenges facing the hospitality sector, which are necessary to boost its growth and contribute to the government's vision of a $3 trillion economy by 2047.