Hyderabad: Among a host of reasons, the high Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) tax levied by southern states is hampering the development of a tourist circuit cutting across different states in South India.
Unlike the Golden Triangle tourist circuit in North India, which connects Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, there are no such tourist circuits in South India. This refrains tourists, visiting any particular Southern state, from travelling to other states in the region at one go.
Slashing the high aviation turbine fuel tax can increase the air connectivity to tier-II cities and promotes tourism, says Sujit Benarjee, former secretary of the Union Tourism department and secretary general of the World Travel and Tourism Council India Initiative.
‘‘In Andhra Pradesh the ATF tax is 12.5 per cent, in Karnataka it is 25 per cent and in Tamil Nadu it is the highest of all the States, that is 30 per cent. But in Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand it is a mere four per cent. In some parts of the West Bengal no tax is collected on ATF. Once, the ATF is reduced, the air traffic to a particular city increases and consequently the airlines slash their prices. This would bring tourists in large numbers contributing to the economic development of a region,” he adds.
21/02/14 Vikram Mukka/New Indian Express
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Unlike the Golden Triangle tourist circuit in North India, which connects Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, there are no such tourist circuits in South India. This refrains tourists, visiting any particular Southern state, from travelling to other states in the region at one go.
Slashing the high aviation turbine fuel tax can increase the air connectivity to tier-II cities and promotes tourism, says Sujit Benarjee, former secretary of the Union Tourism department and secretary general of the World Travel and Tourism Council India Initiative.
‘‘In Andhra Pradesh the ATF tax is 12.5 per cent, in Karnataka it is 25 per cent and in Tamil Nadu it is the highest of all the States, that is 30 per cent. But in Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand it is a mere four per cent. In some parts of the West Bengal no tax is collected on ATF. Once, the ATF is reduced, the air traffic to a particular city increases and consequently the airlines slash their prices. This would bring tourists in large numbers contributing to the economic development of a region,” he adds.
21/02/14 Vikram Mukka/New Indian Express
