Expand infra status across hospitality sector, bring tourism in concurrent list: Chalet Hotels ED

The infrastructure status extended to hotels in 50 select destinations needs to be expanded across the hospitality sector, and tourism must be brought into the concurrent list for better policy coordination between the Centre and states, and seamless implementation, according to Chalet Hotels Ltd Executive Director Shwetank Singh.

Sharing his expectations from the upcoming Union Budget, Singh said India's hospitality sector waits with measured optimism.

''We have created 46.5 million jobs and are projected to support 64 million by 2035, yet do not get classified as infrastructure which is a looming constraint on scale,'' he lamented.

Noting that the 2025-26 Union Budget extended infrastructure status to hotels in 50 select destinations, he said,''...but the sector needs comprehensive recognition.'' Infrastructure classification unlocks soft financing, lower utility tariffs and rationalised property taxes, support that is routinely granted to highways and ports, but withheld from hotels despite equivalent capital intensity, Singh said.

Equally critical is bringing tourism into the concurrent list, he said.

Elaborating on the matter, Singh said,''Policy coordination between the Centre and states has long remained fragmented. To ensure seamless implementation across diverse destinations, tourism, and by extension, hospitality requires constitutional alignment within shared legislative space.'' This will further help in the holistic development of the destination giving a seamless experience to the traveller, he said, adding ''the pathway to USD 1 trillion contribution to the GDP from the sector would then be closer to reality''.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)