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| V
N Dalmia |
In
a bid to tap the tourism potential of the state both socially
and economically, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI)
has recently put forth suggestions to the Punjab Government.
The said white paper also bears suggestions to create separate
divisions for international and domestic marketing while highlighting
the USP of the state.
Speaking
about tourism in Punjab, V N Dalmia, Chairman, Tourism &
Civil Aviation Committee, PHDCCI said that “Punjab symbolises
the vision of a glorious heritage characterized by the patriotic
and vibrant culture of its people. Famous for its artisans,
folklore, folk dances (Bhangra), cuisine, green fields and
holy shrines, Punjab is a lucrative tourism product”.
Throwing light on this untapped potential, he said that “The
basic reason behind this is that Punjab lacks a framework
of incentives, the authorities are clueless on what commodities
or services to tax. They lack basic know how of what luxury
tax and tourist transport tax should be. According to Dalmia,
first of all Punjab needs to have an aggressive marketing
strategy to make its presence on the country’s tourism
map and should combine resources with the Government of India
and with the neighboring states. Joint promotions are the
call of the day. Exposure of Punjab as a tourism product to
both the trade and the media is required.
Dalmia propagated that new projects in the tourism sector
should be exempt from luxury tax for a period of eight years.
Similarly multiplexes should be exempted from paying entertainment
tax. Luxury tax should be caped at 5 per cent for existing
hotels. A reduction in the transport tax and land conversion
charges is required. It was also brought to attention that
the Punjab Government’s Tourism Department should have
separate divisions for international and domestic marketing
and sufficient funds should be allocated for their budget.
Considering that Punjab is predominantly a heritage and cultural
destination, the Chamber organized a two day Tourism Conclave
at Patiala in collaboration with the Indian National Trust
for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The main objective
of this meeting was to make the state government focus on
tourism. According to Dalmia “Such conclaves have done
wonders for both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where Madhya
Pradesh had promised to reduce transport tax and Rajasthan
had increased their tourism budget and also assured to reduce
luxury tax and transport tax. Similarly, drawing the attention
of the chief minister of the state, who assured an increase
in the tourism budget and incentivised entrepreneurs to come
to the state and invest in tourism. Dalmia further confirmed
that it was decided at the end of this conclave to set up
a Joint Working Group- with PHDCCI, INTACH and Government
of Punjab to review and monitor the progress on a quarterly
basis.
“PHDCCI
has also set up a standing committee of northern region tourism
secretaries. So all the state’s tourism secretaries have
come together on a platform provided by PHDCCI to coordinate
and jointly regulate tourism promotion activity.
Dalmia further informed that the chamber had been taking up
the problems concerning tourism industry with various agencies,
including Central and State Government departments, Ministry
of railways and civil Aviation. Tourism is a multi-dimensional
activity and its future growth will depend largely on the
coordination between the key players-the central government,
the state government and the private sector. He said that
the private sector will have to play a greater role in the
development of tourism infrastructure and the future of the
Indian tourism scenario will depend largely on the partnership
between the public sector and the private sector. “There
is need to develop a mechanism for coordinating the individual
activities of PHDCCI and other organizations dealing with
tourism and the government agencies for concerted efforts
in developing tourism in the states” concluded he.
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