Tourism Sector Holds Promise for the Future
A two-day All India Convention of Hotels and Restaurants has been organized in Thiruvananthapuram, capital city of Kerala on December 7th and 8th. South India Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) organized the event. South Kerala Hotelier's Forum played host to the event.
Indian Tourism: Past Learning and Future Earning was the theme of the event.
There were panel discussions on subjects including 'India- A Mice Destination', 'New Generation Marketing', 'Business Opportunities in Kerala', 'Medical Tourism-Emerging Trends'and 'Management - Operational Aspects of Restaurants'. Eminent persons from the industry took part in these sessions.
It is the tourism sector along with IT, which hold promise for the future of the State said Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan who inaugurated the two-day convention. The growth achieved in the tourism sector and increase in tourist arrivals is a testimony to the fact that the State has become a world-class destination. The Government has made good progress in creating basic infrastructure facilities, he said. He added that hotels and restaurants have a major role to play in tourism development. "The tourists who come in for a holiday look forward to affordable accommodation, hospitality from the hotel and restaurant staff and good food.
The President of SIHRA, M.P. Purushothaman, in his address, urged the State Government to bring down the luxury tax to 10 per cent on room tariff above Rs 1,000 and to remove the tax on other services. The government should also reduce the licence fee levied on bars attached to hotels as it is a service to guests. SIHRA has also called for rationalising the tax structure and to apply the industrial power tariff to the hotels and to reduce the bar licence fees, which is the highest in the country.
Dr. V Venu IAS, Secretary, Kerala Tourism, who gave the keynote address on day one
said India still account for only 0.5 per cent of the international arrivals. "It was 0.35 in 1989. In numbers we have grown, but in market share we have not". He added that the country was sitting on a goldmine and the brand image is there to attract tourists.
Cherian Philip, Chairman, KTDC; R. Rangachari Advisor to SIHRA; T. Natarajan Secretary, SIHRA; Suresh M. Pillai, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Shankar Menon, Vice-President, SIHRA were also present.
Followed by productive sessions on new generation marketing, business opportunities in Kerala, Medical Tourism and Restaurant Management, attended by T Nataraajan, CEO, GRT hotels and resorts, M Natraj, Expedia, Sanjay Sethi, MD Berggruen hotels, T Damu, VP IHCL, Elamaram Karim, Minister for industries, Kerala and the Industries department Secretary, T Balakrishnan IAS, E M Najeeb, CMD, ATE, Baby Mathew, MD Somatheeram Group,
P Murugan, Secretary, SKHF and other industry majors.
The sessions were fruitful for the industry executives as well as the students gearing up for their careers in the industry. There was high participation from different corners of the industry. The last session which features core analysis and strategy building for successful restaurants along with effective communication within the establishments got a lot of applause.
People from the tourism industry greeted the event with high enthusiasm as they knew the events of the sort could boost up the quality and quantity of business. Experts also appealed for the inclusion of manpower generation and management for the industry in the future edition of the event. Sudhiesh Kumar, President, KHRA thanked the gathering for their presence in the event.
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