In a bid to push domestic tourism, the Centre will focus on its ‘Incredible India’ campaigns. The new areas being looked into include spiritual tourism. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Interim Budger 2024-25 has proposed doubling the outlay for promotion of domestic destinations to ₹176.97 crore, near doubling from the ₹95 crore outlay in the previous fiscal year. “Promotion of domestic tourism holds substantial potential for generating tourism revenue in India and creating numerous job opportunities,” the Finance Minster said.

The total proposed budget allocation for tourism in FY25 stands at ₹2,344.07 crore, a notable increase from the revised budget spend of ₹1,692.10 crore in FY24, which is an increase of 38 per cent. However, the budget for promoting Indian destinations abroad has been drastically reduced from ₹100 crore to ₹3.2 crore. While the promotion of Indian destinations has made travel industry players happy, the slashing of the international promotion is a dampener for the players.

To further incentivise States to boost tourism within their borders, Sitharaman said, “States will be offered interest-free loans.”

This financial support aims to encourage States to undertake comprehensive development initiatives, including the branding and marketing of iconic tourist centres on a global scale. “A framework for rating of the centres based on the quality of facilities and services will be established. Long-term interest-free loans will be provided to States for financing such development on a matching basis,” she said in her Budget speech

Funds doubled

The budget also reflects a doubling of funds for the Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around specific themes (Swadesh Darshan) to ₹1,750 crore from ₹818 crore in the previous Budget. Additionally, the allocation for the PRASAD scheme, focusing on the development of pilgrim sites, has been raised to ₹240 crore, particularly in response to the increased tourism at Ayodhya following the inauguration of the Ram temple.

Stating the success of India’s economic strength and its attractiveness as a destination for business and conference tourism, Sitharaman pointed out, “The success of organising G20 meetings in 60 places presented diversity of India to the global audience.” She also acknowledged the middle class’s growing aspirations for travel and exploration.

In response to the surge in interest following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep, Sitharaman said, “There will be a huge focus on domestic tourism. Projects for port connectivity, tourism infrastructure, and amenities will be taken up on our islands, including Lakshadweep. This will help in generating employment also.”

The Finance Minister addressed the aviation sector, recognising its significant growth in the past decade. She noted that the number of airports has doubled to 149, citing the success of the UDAN 19 scheme, which has rolled out air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Sitharaman stated, “517 new routes are carrying 1.3 crore passengers.” The Budget has allocated ₹502 crore for the regional connectivity scheme, with proposals for the revival of 22 airports and the commencement of 124 RCS routes, along with Viability Gap Funding for North East Connectivity.