Bhubaneswar: Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release special financial package of Rs 3,000 crore to develop tourism in the state.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, HRAO chairman J K Mohanty has sought special grant to develop Tourism of Odisha which has the highest tourism potential in Eastern India but devastated by Cyclonic storm Fani.
Mohanty said although the cyclone affected the tourism of Odisha, with the support of the Central and state governments the tourism industry of Odisha will bounce back before Rath Yatra, the oldest mega Hindu festival in the world.
He regretted that the Ministry of Tourism has focused on Kerala, Goa, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Rajasthan but was neglecting Eastern India, particularly Odisha.
The HRAO chairman said special grant of Rs 1,000 crore be given for building hotel rooms, Rs 100 crore for development of Buddhist circuit in Odisha, Rs 500 crore for building an international standard convention centre, Rs 500 crore for development of Biju Patnaik Park at Chilika, international standard water sports hub, house boats, cruises and water sports equipment at Chilika lake to attract tourists.
He also appealed to create ropeway facility from the Biju Patnaik Park to Malatikund Island to Kalijai temple and at Taratarini temple to increase the footfall of tourists in Odisha.
States like Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Goa, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, Mohanty said have increased foreign tourist arrivals due to availability of much more star category hotels and rooms.
But there has been acute shortage of hotel rooms in Odisha and increase in foreign tourist footfalls in the state could not be achieved unless the hotels and hotels rooms are increased.
The requirement of rooms in Odisha other than Bhubaneswar and Puri are 2,000 under three-star category, 500 under five-star category and around 4,000 in two-star category.
The HRAO chairman also requested the government to instruct all financial institutions to give two years moratorium on existing term loans for repayment principal and interest.
He demanded that fresh term loans be disbursed for reconstruction, restoration and rehabilitations to all affected hotels with interest-free moratorium period of two years and the fresh sanctions should be without any approval, documentations and on priority basis, within 30 days from the date of submission of loan application.
He said all insurance companies be instructed to disburse 50 per cent of the claim amount by May 30, 2019 and balance 50 per cent within a month.
Mohanty requested for revival and restoration of tourist places for tourist attractions, especially in and around Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack city at the earliest.
He said the damage to hotel industry is around Rs 500 crores and government must plan relief measures to compensate this huge loss.
The HRAO also proposed the government to exempt employer’s contribution component for PF and ESI for a period of two years for all hoteliers and special tax exemption for hotel industry on the heads of GST, Holding Tax, Municipal Tax and other relevant statutory taxes.
Mohanty proposed to constitute a high level committee to resolve issues on priority basis.
Immediate promotional activities through video films, print media, roadshows in major cities be taken up to get back the tourist flow to Odisha.
This apart more international flights to the Biju Patnaik International Airport, should be considered by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
He said domestic tourism can be doubled with direct flight connectivity to Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Pune and Ahmedabad.
The HRAO urged upon the government to work out on conducting international roadshows in countries like Bangladesh, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russian Federation, Germany and France, from where India receives highest number of foreign tourists.
He suggested the government to constitute a tourism development board for continuous infrastructure development required to retain longer duration of tourists to stay in the state. Game parks, water sports in line with Disney World or Essel World should be developed in the state.
The government could also develop NICHE market with specific areas like Buddhist heritage, Chilika Lake, Eco-Tourism, Wildlife, Medical Tourism, improve nightlife activities in Bhubaneswar by having daily traditional Odissi dances and starting night safari in Nandankanan which would be a great attraction for the tourists.
While the Union Government is moving ahead with major plans for promoting Buddhist Circuits in the country, Odisha is not figuring in the plan, Mohanty regretted.
Odisha, Mohanty said, being a major Buddhist centre, will miss out the elite list of Buddhist circuits of the country due to lack of development and marketing. The HRAO requested a grant of Rs 100 crore towards development of Buddhist Circuit of Odisha.
He said to attract high-end domestic as well as foreign tourists, the HRAO urged the Centre to grant Rs 500 crore towards development of Biju Patnaik Park situated at Chilika lake.
He said Rs 250 crore may be given towards infrastructure development at Puri-Konark Marine Drive and a grant of Rs 650 crore for infrastructure development at Samuka Beach where 1,000 acres has been identified for Beach Tourism.
The HRAO president also requested the government to focus on Spiritual Tourism and Religious Tourism to protect the Religious and Spiritual Culture of the state.
Mohanty requested the government to reduce the GST on hotels having a tariff of Rs 7,500 and above from 28 per cent to 8 per cent.
Hotels with a room tariff of Rs 7,500 and above are facing a severe constraint for being placed in the highest GST slab of 28 per cent. It also acts as a bar in the flow of tourists and earning of foreign exchange.
Describing the GST tariff as the highest in the world, Mohanty said while the tariff in Indonesia is 5 per cent it is 6 per cent in China, Malasiya and Singapore 7 per cent in Spain, 10 per cent in France, 13 per cent in Nepal and Sri Lanka and 15 per cent in the USA.
A copy of the letter was sent to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the Tourism Ministers of the Union government and Odisha government.