HOSPITALITY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General, Hotel Association of India spoke to T&E Editor Anirban Dasgupta on the post-covid challenges in the Hospitality industry and the scope and opportunities in domestic and international tourism in India.

- Anirban Dasgupta

How is the recovery of the Hospitality industry so far in the post covid scenario? How optimistic would the design be to match the earlier parameters?

According to the latest report by Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), the revenue grew by 89.6% YoY, Q3 2022, over 2021. It is an indication that the hospitality industry is back to normal. The growth pattern is assisted by strong demand in corporate, MICE and domestic travel. various available reports show that weekend getaways, experiential and leisure travel are the prominent consumer preferences influencing the demand side.

The report also indicates that the supply side is also picking up 54 hotels, with 4,282 rooms were added during the year. As per the report, While domestic operators signed 34 hotels, international firms were involved in 20 deals. It is essential that in order to match, the demand and supply of accommodation, consistent with the growth projection and targets of the government the focus should be on future planning. Many member hotels are working on an extensive expansion plan--looking at increasing accommodation in non-metro cities and developing budget categories to meet future projections. All these are indicative of optimism in the industry about the future.

Domestic vs International tourism in the Post Covid scenario how are they impacting the Hospitality sector? 

Globally the ratio of international to domestic tourists has been around 1: 10. In India it is huge—before covid domestic visits were more than 2000 m against 15m international tourists. After Covid, also domestic tourism has fast picked up already reaching 677 m visits. The revival of tourism after Covid has been almost entirely driven by this phenomenon. The long-term policy of the government relating to the development of accommodation, creating new destinations, connecting unexplored areas-must be based on this reality.