Indian Union Budget: The Hits and Misses for Tourism
Photo Credit: Tourists walking near the great Buddha statue in Bodh Gaya, India. Pexels / Rajesh Kumar Verma
Skift Take
While the Indian Union Budget for 2025-26 didn't roll out any blockbuster wins for tourism, the industry is still finding reasons to celebrate the small victories.
The Indian government announced the Union Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year on Saturday, bringing modest gains for certain sectors in tourism. While the global marketing budget for tourism, which the government slashed by 97% last year to INR 30 million ($361,000), remains unchanged, the government has increased the overall tourism budget by nearly 4% to INR 25.4 billion ($293 million).
Deep Kalra, the chairman of World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII), highlighted this miss, "There was a strong expectation for an enhanced international marketing budget to support India’s growing ambitions as a global tourism hub." Kalra also spoke of an urgent need for an empowered, strategically driven India Tourism Board to amplify India’s global footprint.
Despite industry demands, the long-sought "industry status" for the sector remains unaddressed. However, signaling an intent to attract international tourists, the government has announced streamlined e-visa facilities and visa fee waivers for select tourist groups.
In a positive move, policymakers have proposed raising the tax collected at source (TCS) threshold on remittances under RBI’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) from INR 700,000 ($8074) to INR 1 million ($11,534). Previously, overseas tour packages incurred a 5% TCS rate up to INR 700,000 and 20% beyond
