New Delhi [India], September 4 (ANI): Rikant Pitti, co-founder and Chairman cum Managing Director of EaseMyTrip, has welcomed the latest reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure saying that this was a very exciting time for the travel and tourism industry,

Speaking to ANI, Pitti said, 'This is a very exciting time for the travel and tourism industry... Travel and tourism is one of the sectors that has the biggest multiplier impact on employment, and these tax reforms will definitely encourage a lot of tourism to be enhanced.'

He explained that the simplified tax regime, which has reduced the earlier four GST slabs to just two, 5 per cent and 18 per cent, will make travel more affordable for people and boost overall demand.

'The reduction of the GST on hotels will not only encourage tourism but also help hoteliers to make their stays more affordable for travellers, which will also enhance high occupancy within the hotel. This will help a lot with the budget in the mid-scale hotels,' Pitti said.

He further added that air travel will also benefit from the simplified tax structure, creating more demand during the upcoming festive season.

According to Pitti, the positive impact of these reforms will be visible across the sector as hotels, websites, and travel companies are expected to pass on the benefits directly to users. 'We believe that we will have more and more users to take more and more flights, and we'll book more and more hotels through us,' he said.

Pitii believes that the GST reforms mark key progress in streamlining taxes, boosting business momentum, and building confidence.

According to company information, EaseMyTrip (listed on NSE and BSE) is one of India's largest online travel-tech platforms in terms of air ticket bookings, as per the Crisil Report-Assessment of the OTA Industry in India (Feb 2021). (ANI)