Union Tourism Minister Patel to Discuss Festive Season SOPs with State Counterparts on Oct 15-16

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | October 13, 2020 | News

Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel

With an aim to resume the flow of Tourism activities in the country, Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel will hold a virtual meeting with State Tourism Ministers and senior officials on October 15 and 16, ahead of the upcoming festive season.

In this meeting, Patel will discuss the post-COVID protocols and put plans in motion to ensure that the Tourism sector opens up with safety measures in place. He will interact with Tourism ministers of the Northern and Western States and Union territories on October 15 and the Southern, Eastern and North-eastern States on October 16.

The Tourism sector has, according to industry estimates, suffered a loss of over Rs 5 lakh crore due to the coronavirus-driven shutdown, state reports.

The Government has announced several stimulus packages for the sector, including extended moratorium from RBI on term loans, the Atma-nirbhar Bharat package and easy PF withdrawals.

The Central Government had also rolled out relief from regulatory compliances under the Income Tax Act, Companies Act and the GST Act for different time frames in order to help with business continuity and survival.

Last month, Patel held a brainstorming session on promotion of the Incredible India campaign post COVID-19 with influencers and travel media organisations, assuring them that the Ministry would help them in any way possible to speed up Tourism-related activities.