Budget 2025: Mixed signals for tourism and hospitality
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday unveiled an ambitious tourism vision in the Union Budget for 2025-26, reaffirming a 2023 pledge to develop 50 new destinations as engines of economic growth and employment. However, a closer look at the budget paints a more nuanced picture, with stagnant allocations and underutilized funds.
The budget has proposed an allocation ₹2,430 crore for the sector for FY26, a modest rise from ₹2,374 crore the previous year. Of this, the Swadesh Darshan scheme—which funds tourism infrastructure development—received ₹1,900 crore, up from ₹1,750 crore, though only ₹350 crore was actually spent last year. Launched in 2014-15, this scheme provides financial assistance to state governments to improve tourism infrastructure.
Read this | Hotels, travel companies expect domestic tourism to surge in hill stations this winter Similarly, the PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme, aimed at developing pilgrimage sites, retained its ₹240 crore allocation, yet just ₹100 crore was utilized. “A lot of interesting schemes have been announced but frankly, from a tourism standpoint, this is not a great budget," Subhash Goyal, chairperson of Delhi-based STIC Travel Group told Mint. "These 50 tourist sites were announced two years ago but no work has been done on it yet.
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