Budget 2026–27 treats tourism as a year-round employment generator, with measures focused on skills (10,000 trained guides), professional education (National Institute of Hospitality), and medical and wellness tourism hubs.
The budget backs tourism growth through development of archaeological sites, Buddhist circuits in the North-East, mountain and scenic trains, and eco- and astro-tourism initiatives, aiming to spread tourism beyond major cities.
Lower TCS on overseas travel and improved transport connectivity—through high-speed rail, waterways and regional access—are intended to ease travel and support long-term tourism expansion, though outcomes will depend on execution.
Budget 2026: Tourism Sees Ambitious Announcements; Heritage, Buddhism, Trekking Gets Major Focus
Overall, budget 2026–27 signals a clearer policy intent to integrate tourism with employment generation and regional development.
Summary
The Union Budget 2026–27 places tourism among its priority service sectors, outlining a set of institutional, infrastructure and policy measures aimed at expanding employment, improving visitor infrastructure and spreading economic activity beyond major urban centres.
Rather than treating tourism as a seasonal or discretionary activity, the budget frames it as a steady source of jobs linked to transport, culture, healthcare and skills development. Several announcements cut across ministries, indicating a more integrated approach to tourism planning.
Training, Institutions
The government announced a National Institute of Hospitality to strengthen professional education in tourism and hospitality. In addition, a 12-week pilot programme, to be run in partnership with IIMs, will train 10,000 tourist guides across 20 destinations. Officials said the focus would be on employability, language skills and destination knowledge.
A digital knowledge grid for tourism has also been proposed to map heritage, cultural and natural sites, with the aim of improving access to information for planners, operators and travellers.
Heritage, Pilgrimage Tourism
The budget provides for the development of 15 archaeological sites, including Dholavira, Rakhigarhi and Sarnath, as tourism destinations with improved visitor facilities and interpretation.
In the north-east region, a new scheme will support Buddhist tourism circuits across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. The programme will cover monastery preservation, pilgrim amenities and connectivity, targeting both domestic and international visitors.
Nature, Rail-Based Tourism
Several proposals focus on experiential and nature-based tourism. These include mountain and scenic train services in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, with similar routes planned in Jammu & Kashmir, the Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats and parts of the Western Ghats.
The budget also mentions initiatives such as bird-watching routes, trekking and hiking trails, turtle conservation-linked tourism in Kerala, and an astro-tourism programme involving upgrades to telescopes in Ladakh and several other locations.
Medical And Wellness Travel
To strengthen India’s medical travel segment, the budget proposes support for five regional medical tourism hubs, integrating hospitals, diagnostics, AYUSH services and rehabilitation facilities through public-private partnerships.
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Policy Changes
For travellers and tour operators, the budget reduces Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages from up to 20% to a flat 2%, a move expected to ease cash-flow pressures, though it does not change the final tax liability.
Tourism-related measures are supported by wider investments in transport and infrastructure, including seven proposed high-speed rail corridors and expanded inland waterways and coastal shipping. While not tourism-specific, these projects are expected to improve access to major destinations over time.
Overall, budget 2026–27 signals a clearer policy intent to integrate tourism with employment generation and regional development.
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