The summit is being organised as an initiative under India’s G20 presidency.
“From startup companies to companies like the Tata Group, everybody should look at investing more in the tourism sector. If you look overseas, there is so much private investment in the sector. Without private investments, it is hard to develop tourism in a vast country like India,” said Reddy.
“We want to encourage healthy competition between state governments as well and besides big corporates and investors, we are also planning to invite companies that are currently not present in the tourism and hospitality sector for this summit.”
Reddy further said, “There is tremendous scope in tourism. Domestic tourism has improved dramatically in India between 2022-2023. Hoteliers are seeing the demand in India and have ambitious plans to launch more hotels here. We are talking to multinational hotel companies as well.”
He said other sectors such as consumer and manufacturing will also benefit with the growth in tourism.
“As tourism grows, the country’s economy will grow. There are so many destinations, sea stretches, wildlife and monuments,” the minister said. “There are 3,600 ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) protected monuments in the country. State governments across the country have lakhs of monuments under them. Investors can also build hotels across segments. From homestays and budget to seven star hotels, there is a lot of scope in India.”While announcing the launch of the summit last month, tourism secretary Arvind Singh had said that in order to showcase investable opportunities to investors, 25 states had shared 350-plus investable projects with a total investment potential of about Rs 64,000 crore ($7.7 billion) with the tourism ministry.
The ministry will conduct roadshows in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai for the summit. Reddy said this is just the beginning.
“This will be the first such summit so whatever investments we get for the sector would be a bonus for us. We are in touch with state governments, ministers and tourism corporations. Our partner CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) is also in touch with the state governments to understand their policies and possible incentives, and their approach. We want to motivate private investors and state governments to invite private investments,” he said.
Besides the concerned departments, ministries and sectors, the second biggest beneficiary of India’s G20 presidency has been the tourism and hospitality sector, with 56 cities planning to host more than 200 meetings, said Reddy.
“The Prime Minister had said delegates should become ambassadors for Indian tourism and culture, and the G20 delegates are going back with a message for their country,” he said.
Under the automatic route, 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed in the tourism and hospitality sector. As per data released by the tourism ministry, India received FDI of $9.2 billion in the hotel and tourism sector between 2014 and 2022.
Reddy said the government has a vision to boost FDI inflows.
Previously, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister had said that India saw 6.19 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2022 compared to 1.52 million in 2021.
Reddy said the government will promote tourism in overseas markets and has been appointing tourism officers in its embassies. “The external affairs ministry is also involved in this. We will also get a cabinet approval on overseas promotions hopefully in the next one or two months,” he said.
