The Union Budget for 2025-26 presented by the Union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has ignored the inbound tourism industry and the brand Incredible India once again. Although the budget proposed to ease and streamline the e-visa processes and introduce visa fee waivers for select countries, there has been a drastic cut in the overseas marketing and promotions and Market development assistance (MDA) budget this year.
While the budget estimates for 2025-26 remained almost the same (INR 2,541 crore) compared to 2024-25 (INR 2,484 crore), the allocation for overseas promotion and publicity, including MDA, has come down to INR 3.07 crore in this year’s budget. The allocation in the same head was INR 33 crore in the last budget estimates and it remained the same in the revised estimates as well.
Underscoring the government’s outlook on tourism in India, the bulk of the branding and promotions budget has been kept in the domestic tourism promotions. Out of the INR 140 crore estimates, nearly INR 137 crore will be spent on domestic tourism promotions, as per the Demands for Grants estimates of the Ministry of Tourism.
Breaking down the allocation, INR 1,158.79 crore has been specifically designated for AI Asset Holdings Ltd, allocated for servicing loans transferred to the special purpose vehicle (SPV) as part of the financial restructuring of Air India. This marks a decrease from the 2023-24 allocation of INR 1,144.49 crore and a revised estimate of INR 713.92 crore.
“The government is indirectly asking the inbound tourism industry to be “atma nirbhar’,” said a prominent tour operator reacting to the negligible allocation for overseas promotions and marketing. “The budget is good for the hotel industry, homestays, etc., but there is nothing for the inbound tourism industry. The enhancement in IT limits is good for middle-income people. A share of their savings will come to tourism, primarily domestic and outbound travel, he said. “While there is nothing to boost inbound tourism, a major foreign exchange earner for the country, the TCS relaxation will boost outbound travel. People with PAN Card can claim tax reimbursement,” said another tour operator.
Meanwhile, the variation in the Budget estimates for tourism at the beginning of the financial year and the revised estimates continues to widen every year. As per the budget documents, the revised budget estimates for tourism in the current financial year 2024-25 was only INR 855 crore (34 per cent) compared to the budget estimates of INR 2,485 crore.
