Budget travellers, try camping out?

For those who don't have moral or financial pangs in using the mini bar while staying in hotels needn't worry. Hotels charging more than Rs 1,000 will continue to be taxed 12% under the goods and services tax. But it's the sub-Rs 1,000 lot - budget accommodations, whether shady hotels, inns, guest houses or campsites - that will now become 12% more expensive as this category, too, comes under GST ki vyavastha from today. So, budget travellers, including a bulk of religious tourists, a.k.a. pilgrims, and students, will have to shell out more or decide to cut back on their jaunts. Giving a miss on Vaishno Devi if you've decided on a Kumbh - or picking either a trip to the mountains or to the seaside - in the same year can become de rigueur for the more strapped for cash.

There is, however, a possibility of a surge in people opting for tents and tarpaulins - items which if under Rs 1,000 come under the 5% tax slab. A tent above Rs 1,000 invites 12% GST. But, then, if you can spend on posh(er) tents, you'd probably jolly well afford a hotel room. Spending your chhutti outdoors may not sound alluring with mosquitoes and rain as possible fellow lodgers. If more people start camping outdoors, who knows, India's outdoor facilities may also improve. Unless, of course, 'adventure camping' falls under the thrall of GST one day.