The Republic Day long weekend beginning Saturday is driving a surge in travel with hotels and resorts witnessing an increase in bookings led by high demand, reflecting a decisive shift in traveller behaviour and the rise of micro-getaways, industry players said. The increasing preference for short, experience-led holidays is emerging as a strong trend shaping the country's leisure travel market.
With the rise of wellness tourism and experiential travel, specialised jobs are being created in spa management, event planning and local experience curation, besides social media management.
India's hospitality sector is rolling out the red carpet for investors. A flurry of upcoming IPOs, or initial public offerings, the entry of new players, and ambitious expansion plans by Indian and global hotel brands are ushering in what could be the industry's most formalised era yet. Leading the charge are real estate titans, who are turning their hotel arms into global hospitality chains.
Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation.
With the fresh wave of COVID-19 plunging the hospitality sector back into uncertainty, industry body HAI on Monday said it has asked the government to consider granting infrastructure status to hotels, extend moratorium on loans and rationalise taxes. In its pre-Budget memorandum, the Hotel Association of India (HAI) said policy interventions are imperative for the sector's survival and its early and quick rebound to normalcy. "The hospitality industry was slowly getting into a recovery mode on the strength of domestic tourism - leisure and events, only to be plunged back into uncertainty on account of the Omicron threat.
'On an average we have been getting four to five such proposals a month, but we aren't pursuing them as they don't tick the boxes.'
The domestic hospitality industry is looking to 'fly' in 2023 cashing in on India's G20 presidency, having received the 'oxygen' to run in 2022 after being crippled in the past two years by the pandemic. Domestic travel, especially the leisure segment, gave wind to the industry this year and is expected to continue into the next. Industry players believe that as international arrivals are also likely to pick up even further, the outlook for 2023 is buoyant.
Experts indicated the Indian hospitality companies were too quick to push the panic button and cut rates, impacting the ability to do business.
Besides urging the Centre for extension of loan moratorium, the hotel and travel industries have also demanded deferment of GST and advance tax payments and waiver of fees for all forthcoming licences and permits.
Tata group company the Taj Group of Hotels on Tuesday said it expects room tariffs to go up marginally from September as occupancy level increases in the hospitality industry after suffering slump in the past two years.
With demand drying up, hotels are surviving on quarantine centres and isolation facilities.
The Hotel Association of India has come up with elaborate security guidelines for big and small properties.
The petitioners submitted that the high court was not justified in commenting that 'female touch lends grace and elegance to the hospitality industry.'
A customer dissatisfied with his dining experience can have service charge on his food bill waived.
In a bid to propel the hospitality industry to contribute to the country's economic growth, Hotel Association of India has asked the government to rationalise tax structure and grant 'infrastructure industry' status to hotels
Can a woman stay in the same hotel room with a man she is not married to or vice versa? Seems an outdated question in this day and age? Not exactly, says the hospitality industry.
Nehru decided to build The Ashok in New Delhi to host a UNESCO conference. For a prime minister focussed on India building with projects like the Bhakra-Nangal Dam, IITs and factories, "the hotel spoke of the gumption of the country at that time." Manavi Kapur traces the eventful journey of the hotel, which has now completed 60 years.
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