Pre- Budget expectations on travel, tourism and aviation 

Quote from Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO & Co-founder, ixigo

“As the pandemic becomes endemic, we are seeing the true bounce-back potential of domestic tourism which saw a sharp rise in tourist flow in 2021 due to pent-up demand, vaccine roll-out, and revenge tourism. While demand and search queries for travel have been slowly climbing in the last two quarters and the industry is regaining momentum, certain provisions by the government can help bolster the industry back to pre-COVID-19 levels sooner. We have noticed the rise of domestic air travel from tier 2 and 3 towns and budgetary focus on the development of infrastructure, technology, and safety measures of existing and new airports in Tier 2 & 3 cities will help boost tourism by improving connectivity with those cities where trains or buses may be the only connectivity today. We are looking forward to the government strategizing a sustainable long-term plan to help revive international travel which is currently disrupted by ongoing waves. The introduction of innovative initiatives like the ‘sandbox schemes’ currently being followed by countries like Thailand and Indonesia for fully vaccinated tourists will help India build a more resilient tourism economy going forward. We also expect the upcoming budget to allot incentives for domestic tourism and promote it within the country. IT deductions on domestic travel and tourism spends will help incentivize tourism and boost domestic travel further. Tax breaks and waivers for the airline sector will also help aid faster recovery of the industry. Bringing ATF under the ambit of GST (which currently comprises 40-45 percent of the total operating cost of an airline) will bring much-needed relief to the aviation sector. “

Pre- Budget expectations on Railways and public travel safety

Quote from Rajnish Kumar, Group CPTO & Co-founder, ixigo

“Train travel in India has seen a faster recovery than other travel modes with a swift recovery of reserved train ticketing. Since the onset of COVID-19, more travelers are opting to book reserved coaches on trains for enhanced safety and train travel in non-Tier I cities. This has led to a resilient demand segment for railways as even during peak COVID waves, over 50% of railway capacity was still being serviced. The upcoming budget has the potential to re-invent the railway sector by adopting smarter strategies that prioritizes health and safety of train passengers. The government needs to promote digital distribution of unreserved train tickets through IRCTC and OTAs to reduce queues at the railway station. Re-inforcing public transport systems  and SRTC bus providers with advanced technologies like QR code based ticketing and IoT can help build a safe commuter environment by reducing the crowds in public transport / ticketing. Initiatives like contactless systems, automated sanitization, voice or motion activated devices can minimize contact with high-touch surfaces and prevent cross infections at crowded railway stations and bus stations.”