Assam: 12 tourism sectors granted industry status by the state government

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Government has accorded industry status to as many as 12 sectors related to tourism so as to make them avail of the benefits of the state government’s Industrial and Investment Policy, 2019.

The lack of industry status continues to deprive all these sectors of the benefits under the Industrial and Investment Policy of the state.

According to the notification issued to this effect, the Tourism Department will now treat the following 12 sectors as industries: (i) hotels, motels, budget hotels and lodges (three-star and above), (ii) heritage hotels, bungalows, and luxury eco-lodges; (iii) camping sites; (iv) restaurants and cafeterias; (v) health clubs, spas, and wellness centres; (vi) amusement parks; (vii) wildlife safaris; (viii) adventure parks, sports, and water sports; (ix) tour operator services; (x) ropeways; (xi) museums; and (xii) river cruises (already notified).

The notification has set a few minimum eligibility criteria—permanent infrastructure, minimum investment, employment generation, and minimum performance—for individual tourism institutions to fulfill.

The criteria for hotels, motels, budget hotels, and lodges (three-star and above) are at least 30 rooms, a banquet hall with 100 seating capacity, and a dining hall with 60 seating capacity. The minimum financial investment in this sector should be Rs 20 crore, with at least 50 permanent employees. On the performance side, in this sector, the minimum annual turnover should be Rs 10 crore and the minimum annual occupancy of rooms should be 40 percent.

Under the criteria for wildlife safaris, a registered entity must have at least ten dedicated newly registered (less than one year) off-road safari vehicles, a minimum financial investment of Rs 1 crore, 20 minimum permanent employees (ten drivers and ten tourist guides), and a minimum annual turnover of Rs 25 lakh.

The criteria for river cruise are newly registered vessels (less than one year) dedicated for river cruise purposes with at least 40 seating capacity, four rooms with double occupancy and attached bathrooms/toilets, a fixed cafeteria with 40/20 seating capacity, permanent kitchen facilities with dedicated stores, fixed generators for power of at least 40 KVa, public amenities for ladies and gentlemen with baby-care facilities, dedicated waste disposal facilities, including bio-toilets, and digesters to avoid water and environmental pollution.

The minimum financial investment for a river cruise is Rs 1 crore, with at least 20 permanent staff members and a minimum annual turnover of Rs 1 crore.

The implementing agency of the scheme is the Industries, Commerce, and Public Enterprise Department of the state government. The eligible industries in the tourism sector will have to apply to a portal under the management of the Tourism Department for registration and availing of the benefits under the industrial and investment policy.

The department has fixed eligibility criteria for the other sectors as well.

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