Even as Mumbai is considered the financial capital of India and tourists from around the world travel to the city, it has merely 20 five-star hotels as compared to London, which has the highest at 353. This is due to a lack of implementation of the tourism policy that was sanctioned by the state Cabinet in 2006. A major hurdle in this direction comes from the finance department, which is against waiving off the `150-crore luxury tax for hotels.
Senior official from tourism department said, “Maharashtra tourism policy was sanctioned on December 16, 2006. To promote tourism in state, it was decided that star hotels, motels, apartment hotels, water sports, should be exempted from luxury taxes. The city was classified into A, B and C zones based on the amount of investment and employment generated through hotels.” He added, “It is mentioned in the policy that the tourism project will be 100 per cent exempt from luxury tax for a period of 7 to 10 years in the B and C zone respectively, while a 50 per cent exemption for a period of five years will be granted to the A zone.”
Managing Director of MTDC, Jagdish Patil said, “Compared to London and New York, Mumbai has just 20 star hotels. Hoteliers have to approach 52 departments for licences, so who
will invest in Mumbai? We need an immediate implementation of the policy if we want the city to boost tourism.”