Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) held its third committee meeting recently in Gangtok. Sudesh Poddar, President, HRAEI, along with other members of the managing committee, were present at the meeting wherein it had invited the hoteliers and restaurateurs of Sikkim for a one to one interaction to understand the issues and problems faced by them in their day to day running of the business, and to help solve them collectively.
Poddar said, “Tourism is one of the most important vehicles for economic growth of Sikkim. God has gifted this state with limitless natural beauty and it is one of the most sought after tourism destination in India. Thus, we intend to draw the attention of the state government to key issues which are stumbling blocks to growth of hospitality industry in the state.”
However, along with the advantages, he discussed some deterrent factors in Sikkim, which need to be overcome for driving tourism which in turn will result in accelerated growth of hospitality industry. Lack of an airport, rail connectivity and only one highway connecting Sikkim with the mainland are issues that need urgent intervention of the government. He stressed that at least road infrastructure can be improved immediately.
Apart from the Central capital investment subsidy of 30 per cent on capital investments, the state government has to give additional fiscal benefits to entrepreneurs so that they are attracted to invest in the hospitality sector. Poddar cited the example of Assam which has announced several benefits and incentives for hospitality projects in its recently-launched industrial and investment policy 2014 to attract investors in this sector.
