It was a pleasure to address a session on ‘Future Challenges and Opportunities for Amusement Industry in India’ at the Annual Meet & Training Program of Indian Association of Amusement Parks & Industries (IAAPI) at Bengaluru.
The Amusement, Water and Theme Park Industry in India is still a nascent industry as part of overall tourism market and is relatively new when compared to its origin in USA and Europe. The industry therefore has immense untapped potential in India, both in domestic as well as International sectors in the coming decade.
As per estimates, the industry generated annual revenue of INR 25 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow to almost 3 times, by the year 2025.
Having confronted the onslaught of covid in a resilient manner, despite being one of the worst affected sectors, the industry expects to register manifold increase in footfall and is likely to get large investments, both in private and in public-private-participation mode, in days to come.
The Amusement Industry is highly employment oriented, inclusive, attracts visitors of all ages and has a high happiness factor. However, the industry faces multiple challenges on its way to faster growth, like procuring land at a high cost, huge capital investments, high import duties & tax rates and increasing operational expenses.
The support of Govt of India and the State Govts, is therefore much needed by this Industry, through policies, incentives and fiscal initiatives, to catalyze its growth. Many State Govts have already taken the laudable initiative of granting Industry status to the Amusement Industry in their State Tourism Policies. Other States, may also consider to grant this status, as it may be a win-win situation for both.
Ministry of Tourism may also consider a dedicated chapter on Amusement Industry in its forthcoming National Tourism Policy, to give the required focus and hand holding to this Industry and to bring this industry to the mainstream of India Tourism.
