Shrikant Goenka – Chairman, IAAPI
The Union Budget 2025 outlines key measures that will significantly benefit the tourism and amusement sectors. The marginal increase in the budget allocation for tourism, from ₹2479.62 crore in 2024-25 to ₹2541.06 crore in 2025-26, reflects the government’s commitment to enhancing tourism infrastructure. With initiatives like promoting religious tourism, infrastructure development at top tourism destinations, and the introduction of Mudra Loans for homestays, the sector is poised for substantial growth. Moreover, the focus on medical tourism, connecting new destinations under Udaan, and performance-linked incentives for states will further boost the tourism landscape in India.
The new income tax slab, providing more disposable income to the middle class, will play a crucial role in driving domestic tourism and, in turn, supporting the amusement sector.
In addition, the government’s focus on making India a hub for toy manufacturing is a promising development. As IAAPI includes both toy manufacturers and amusement equipment producers, we see a strong opportunity for the same policy support to benefit the local manufacturing of arcade and amusement machines, fostering innovation and reducing import dependency, ultimately making India a global leader in both the toy and amusement equipment sectors.
