The Union Budget 2025-26 has identified tourism as a sector for employment-led growth.
Presenting the Budget in Parliament on Saturday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said facilitating employment-led growth include organising intensive skill-development programmes for youth, including hospitality management, MUDRA loans for homestays, improving ease of travel and connectivity to tourist destinations, introducing streamlined e-visa facilities and providing performance-linked incentives to states.
She said that top 50 tourist destination sites in the country will be developed in partnership with states through a challenge mode.
The Budget added that land for building key infrastructure including hotels will have to be provided by states and hotels in those destinations will be included in the infrastructure HML.
The minister said that emphasis will be laid on places of spiritual and religious significance and there will be a special focus on destinations related to the life and times of Lord Buddha.
In her speech, she said that medical tourism and Heal in India will be promoted in partnership with the private sector along with capacity building and easier visa norms.
The Finance Minister said that documentation and conservation of our manuscript heritage with academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collectors will be undertaken to cover more than 1 crore manuscripts.
She added that the Government will set up a National Digital Repository of Indian knowledge systems for knowledge.