Modi govt announces package to hotel industry to boost tourism

Gandhinagar, Oct 10 (UNI) Gujarat government today announced a package for hotel industry to boost tourism on the occasion of Gujarat Tourism Year-2006.

The spokerspersons of the government, Ministers IK Jadeja and Sourabhbhai Patel said in a release here that Chief Minister Narendra Modi had announced the package keeping in mind the vast tourism potential of the state and its 1,600 km long coastline and wildlife sanctuaries on the coastal belt. This would help attract investors and mitigate unemployment problem, the ministers said.

The package would benefit only those hotels with 20 or more rooms and coming within the Coastal Regulatory Zone and those hotels in villages within the periphery of wildlife sanctuaries and within a radius of 5 km. These hotels would be given waiver of taxes on electricity, entertainment for five years and no stamp duty too would be charged until March 31, 2011. Also those hotels in notified tourist places in 21 districts too can reap the benefits.

This package benefits can be reaped from April 1, 2006 till December 31, 2007. The benefits accrue until March 31, 2011 with regard to waiver of taxes on electricity, stamp duty and entertainment tax, the release said.

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