The Budget presented by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Monday to a certain extent, failed to live up to the expectations of the tourism sector, which has been making a strong comeback after being hit by the pandemic and two back-to-back floods in the pre-COVID-19 period.
The total outlay to the sector has now come down to ₹351.42 crore for fiscal 2024-25, while the last two Budgets had earmarked a sum of ₹362.15 crore, respectively.
The shortfall in the Budget outlay was also reflected in the reduced allocation for tourism marketing. If the last two Budgets had earmarked a sum of ₹81 crore, respectively, for tourism marketing, this time the Budget share for marketing has come down to ₹78.17 crore.
