The impact of Covid-19 is very much evident and its effect on the tourism industry is severe. Since the lockdown has been announced around the country, the accommodation sector has been harshly affected. Taking the scenario in consideration, the Ministry of Tourism has decided that validity of approval or certifications of hotels and other accommodation units whose project approvals/reapprovals and classification/reclassification have expired/are likely to expire during the period (24.03.2020 to 29.6.2020) are deemed to be extended till June 30.
On the other hand, the Ministry has introduced a scheme of approving Agents, Tour Operators, Adventure Tour Operators, Domestic Tour Operators and Tourist Transport Operators etc. The aim is to encourage quality, standard and service in these categories in order to promote tourism in India.
As the inspection work has been postponed and the application scrutiny have been delayed due to lockdown, the Ministry has decided to allow six months’ months’ relaxation or extension to all categories of Tour Operators (Inbound, Domestic, Adventure) Travel Agents and Tourist Transport Operators for their approval with the Ministry of Tourism subject to the following conditions: –
(i) The previous approval expired or the current approval expires during the period of March 20, 2020 (i.e. the date of issuance of order by the Ministry for discontinuation of inspection work by India Tourism offices) till continuation of lockdown, and
(ii) They applied for renewal before the expiry of their current/previous approval.