Budget 2024: Hospitality players seek infra status for hotels
hotels as infrastructure in the upcoming Union Budget. This move aims to boost investment attractiveness and move away from luxury or 'sin goods' categorization. They also seek incentives like tax breaks for eco-friendly practices, emphasizing tourism's potential as a driver of GDP and job creation.
«The sector is burdened with high taxation, expensive and multifarious licences, approvals and compliances. Hotels are capital intensive with a long gestation period. Cost of operating hotels is high and largely fixed. This makes investments in hotels risky. There is a need to make hotel investments more attractive with an improved rate of investment and to promote ease of doing business,» Hotel Association of India (HAI) President KB Kachru told news agency PTI.
He emphasized that the upcoming Union Budget presents an opportunity to maximize India's hospitality sector contribution towards India Vision 2047 by redefining its policy perspective, shifting away from categorizing hotels as luxury or 'sin' goods.
Kachru highlighted that HAI's primary budget recommendation is for hotels to be classified as infrastructure by the Centre.
«This will allow them access to softer finances at better interest rates with longer periods for re-payment thereby attracting investment,» Kachru was reported as saying.
Hotel Association of India seeks infrastructure status for hotels ahead of budget
Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, echoed similar sentiments, stating, «Granting
