HYDERABAD: The state government has announced sops for investments in the tourism sector under the Tourism Policy 2025–2030. It will reimburse SGST to investors to attract more investments.
It is proposed to offer 50% of the net SGST to investors for a period of five years, but hotels and resorts will not be eligible for reimbursement.
It may be recalled that the state government has formulated the tourism policy with an aim to attract `15,000 crore investments and create additional employment opportunities for three lakh people in the next five years. The new policy focuses on promoting eco-tourism, medical tourism, spiritual tourism, MICE tourism and sports tourism.
The Tourism Policy came into force on Monday, with orders issued by the Secretary of the Tourism Department, Smita Sabharwal.
For the convenience of offering incentives and concessions to eligible tourism units under this policy, projects are categorized based on investment size and locations.
As the state government has proposed to develop 27 tourist spots into Special Tourism Areas (STA), special incentives will be offered on a case-to-case basis, such as lower lease rent for land, longer SGST reimbursements and viability gap funds for the management of basic amenities.
The Telangana Medical and Wellness Tourism Board (TMWTB) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the health minister to ensure compliance with legal, ethical, and public health standards while promoting medical and wellness tourism. For eco-tourism, the Telangana Forest Development Corporation (TGFDC) will serve as a nodal agency for policy implementation.
According to the policy, for the development and operation of tourism projects, different Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models will be adopted through a transparent bidding process. Proposed models include Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), License Fee, Joint Venture (JV), Equity and other models aligning with emerging global trends.
The government will present Tourism Awards in the fields of Food and Beverage, Hotels/Resorts/Wellness Centres/Wayside Amenities, indigenous art, music, craft, folk dance, Tour Operator/Adventure Operator, and Homestay.
