‘God’s Own Country’ is poised to become a ‘round-the-year destination’ for travellers and an important centre for international conferences with the Kerala government announcing major tax concessions for the state tourism industry in the state Budget 2014.
The Budget, presented in the state assembly on January 27 by Finance Minister Shri K M Mani, offers several tax concessions to the tourism industry.
The major announcements include a reduction in luxury tax to 5% on hotels from June to August to promote off-season tourism. The step is expected to help reduce tariff in hotels and resorts in the state's major backwater and hill destinations.
The government has also reduced luxury tax on convention centres and auditoriums with a daily rent exceeding Rs 20,000 to 10 per cent from the existing 20 per cent, in a bid to promote MICE tourism, a niche category for facilitating national and international conferences, conventions and seminars.
Other announcements for the tourism industry relate to substantial increase in allocation for marketing destinations and implementing special tourism projects.
“The tax concessions announced in the Budget will certainly help the tourism industry, which plays an important role in the state’s economy,” said Kerala Tourism Minister Shri A P Anilkumar.
“The concessions will give a new fillip to the tourism industry in Kerala and help the state discover new avenues of growth for the important sector, which has received several international awards and recognitions,” Shri Anilkumar said while welcoming the announcements in the Budget.
The cut in luxury tax in the off-season is expected to increase the number of tourists arriving in Kerala during the off-season months from June to August.
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