Future of Hospitality Industry in India

As per latest reports, India can overtake China in 2015 to become the world’s fastest growing major economy and can widen the gap further in 2016 (refer to the link for complete details.)

Today India is at a position where the whole world is keeping an eye on her every step. And trust me friend, India is taking each and every stride in her growth with flair. When one talks about flair, first thing that comes to my mind is Indian hospitality.

If I talk about numbers, hospitality backs 6.23 % to country’s GDP and 12.4% to the total employment. 

But mere numbers can’t capture the grandness and scale of this beautiful industry. From the iconic Taj Mahal Palace to the grandeur of Leela Palace Udaipur, India has gems of hotels whose shine attracts guests from across the world.

But all this is just what the present has to offer. Only one can guess what secrets future has in store.

Let’s look at key influencers to the growth of Indian hospitality:

Globalization: 

The “world is flat” like Mr.Thomas L.Friedman describes in his famous book.

Humans are getting more wander some than migratory birds !!

This calls for the need of supercilious quality of service, customized to the needs of new age travelers. Who knows, maybe one day you will be able to book a 5 star for few hours based on your visiting needs.

At the same time, Indian professionals are making their roar heard across the length and breadth of the world. No matter where Indian travelers go, they remain Indian at heart. We command our Khakra and Jalebi sitting on Mt. Rushmore, and the world obliges.

Government Initiates: 

The Indian government realizes the potential Hospitality has in store.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, has taken up charge of improving cleanliness and safety levels of India Tourism.

Government has come up with “Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)” scheme that will aim at raising Hospitality to new heights.

Adding cherry to the cake, FDI will put growth of hospitality in India on an expressway.

New avenues of growth: 

Any industry in the world rests on a simple game of demand and supply. If the demand rises, so does supply and thus growth.

With the increase in disposable income and middle class gaining strength, hospitality seems ever so promising.

Moreover, Indians have distinguished demands and tastes, and when we go abroad, it reflects in the services we ask for.

Hotels will have to keep abreast of these demands and make provisions to add “wow factor” in their services.

This will be general rule for all kinds of hotels, be it an airport hotel, business class hotel or a general lodge/ timeshare hotel.

Innovative Operation-Models:

Change is the only permanent today.

 As the industry grows, there will be need for more innovative operation-models to accommodate industry wide  changes.

There are some practices happening today, that guarantee better operation-models tomorrow. Some of these practices include:

• Plan – Do – Check
• It is an age old model with proven results. However, planning each move before-hand comes with experience.
• Understanding Customer
• As customer is the one who will be finally making use of your services, it is best to understand his / her needs before designing any service. As such, hotels across the world are investing heavily to better understand changing needs of global guests
• All Inclusive growth model
• An all inclusive growth model will benefit everyone. As such, hotels are making conscious efforts to keep their employees motivated. A happy employee ensures hotel can adapt to the changing needs of guests

Overall, future of Hospitality looks as bright as pole star in night. 

Let’s enjoy this journey to the fullest!