The Hindu : Low air fares: tourism sector to benefit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 11, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Low air fares: tourism sector to benefit

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 10. With air travel from the State to various cities in the country becoming cheaper due to the new measures announced by the Union Government on Thursday, the travel and tourism sector of God's Own Country is expected to get the maximum benefit with a further spurt in the tourists arrivals to the State in the coming months.

The domestic air fare of Indian Airlines (IA), Air India (AI) and Jet Airways, which operate mainly to the airports of the State, has come down drastically following the decision to reduce excise duty on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) from 16 to 8 per cent and abolishing of 15 per cent Inland Air Travel Tax (IATT) and Rs. 500 Foreign Travel Tax (FTT).

With this, the one-way airfare of IA from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai in Y class has come down from Rs. 8,355 to Rs. 7,291. In the Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi and Kochi-Delhi sectors it has come down from Rs. 14,900 to Rs. 12,983 and from Rs. 4,910 to Rs. 4,296 in the Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai sector. The one-way airfare of IA in Y class from Kochi to Mumbai has come down from Rs. 7,455 to Rs. 6,509.

The Area Manager of Indian Airlines, M. Alosyious Gonsalves, told that the new measures had made air fare on par with train fare. "We expect tough competition in the coming days and expect a considerable shift of passengers as air travel had been made passenger-friendly and affordable to the common man. The new measures will also give a fillip to the tourism industry of the State," he added.

Mr. Alosyious, who is also the Station Manager, said the domestic air fare could be further brought down if the State Government reduces the 34 per cent sales tax on ATF and 15 per cent surcharge on the sales tax. The sales tax, which is 39 per cent, is one of the highest in the country. "The reduction in sales tax to single digit figure as in Andhra Pradesh will help the entry of more airlines and help the passengers," he added.

The Director of Tourism, Alkesh Kumar Sharma, said the new measures will help the State in attracting tourists who have been avoiding the destination due to high domestic airfare. "With the air fare coming down, we are expecting a heavy inflow of tourists in the coming months to the various tourist destinations in the State," he said.

Mr. Sharma, who is also holding the charge of the Managing Director of Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, said Kerala is going to be really benefited and hoped that more operators will come forward to operate flights to the three airports of the State. The disadvantage of Kerala, being far off from the major tourism circuits of the country and other popular destination such as Goa, will be overcome by these new measures.

The general trend of tourists coming from South East Asian countries is that the tourist prefers to spend less for the travel and more for accommodation, food and shopping, he added.

Stating that the measures will give a big boost to the tourism sector, the president of the Kerala Travel Agents Association, K. V. Muraleedharan, said the airlines operating from the country and foreign airlines should reduce the airfare by following the footsteps of the Union Government.

"They should also withdraw the US $ 5 being collected as war risk insurance as there in no war-like situation in the country and the world," he said.

The chairman of the Kerala Chapter of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, E. M. Najeeb, said the measures will help the State to achieve another 10 per cent growth in the tourism sector and make domestic travel hassle-free.

"The foreigners who wish to travel from Delhi to the State can now save US $ 100. This will help more tourists to visit the State from Delhi, Mumbai and Goa," he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala