01 Feb , 2026 By : Debdeep Gupta
While presenting the Union Budget 2026, Sitharaman said the Budget aims to reduce TCS rate on these packages from the current 5 percent and 20 percent to 2 percent without any stipulation of amount.
The shares of Thomas Cook and Easy Trip Planners gained sharply on February 1 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to reduce TCS rate on the sale of overseas tour programme package.
While presenting the Union Budget 2026, Sitharaman said the Budget aims to reduce TCS rate on these packages from the current 5 percent and 20 percent to 2 percent without any stipulation of amount.
The shares of Easy Trip Planners, the parent company of Ease My Trip, jumped nearly 11 percent to trade at Rs 7 apiece. Thomas Cook (India) shares meanwhile gained more than 5 percent to trade at Rs 129 apiece.
Notably, this is only one of the several reforms proposed for the tourism sector. The Finance Minister also proposed to build five medical value tourism hubs in India.
“In partnership with the private sector, these hubs will serve as integrates healthcare complexes that combine medical, educational and research facilities. There will be AYUSH centres, medical-valued tourism facilitation centres and infrastructure for diagnostics, post-care and rehabilitation. These hubs will provide diverse opportunities, job opportunities for healthy professionals including doctors,” the finance minister said today.
Reacting to the announcements, Vineet Verma, Director at Brigade Hotel Ventures, said that tourism has finally received the strategic recognition it deserves in this year’s Budget.
"The emphasis on infrastructure led development, experiential tourism, and ease of doing business sends a strong signal to investors and operators alike. This can accelerate asset creation, improve quality standards, and unlock the sector’s true economic potential. The Budget’s emphasis on tourism also goes beyond infrastructure and rightly addresses the sector’s biggest gap, skilled human capital. The proposed National Institute of Hospitality, along with focused training of tourist guides and service professionals, can significantly raise quality standards, visitor experience, and global competitiveness of Indian tourism," he added.
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