India's hotels are getting grand central

It's ironic and apt at the same time that the passing of P R S 'Biki' Oberoi coincides at a time when India's hospitality industry is in the middle of unprecedented revenge tourism following Covid restrictions that were particularly hard for the sector. As more Indians take longer and fancier holidays during this holiday season, capital infusion into hotels during lockdowns is paying off. International business and leisure travel, too, are surpassing records. This coincided with India's rotating presidency of G20, which it used to showcase high-end tourism potential across a pretty wide selection of cities to a global audience. Beyond this immediate push, India has made substantial improvements to its logistics infrastructure, and the hospitality industry is a direct beneficiary of wide highways, new airports and fast trains.

India's per-capita income is also approaching the threshold that serves as a take-off point for its hospitality sector. Fewer than 1 in 10 hotel rooms is branded, and a third of them remain unoccupied. These are substantially below international standards and will have to ratchet up as Indians seek more out of tourism supply chains in newer locations. Tourism's contribution to India's GDP remains low. The rising number of Indian travellers should help squeeze out idling potential. Supply constraints - principally, manpower and low female participation - will have to be addressed.

Hospitality is fairly representative of India's services growth with a low degree of formalisation and high employment opportunity. Weak policy intervention is now being corrected to address cyclicality and spread of tourism. More intervention is needed to improve access to capital. There is a need to convert the strong demand for religious tourism into a more high-end secular variety for sustainable growth. India will have to offer its own citizens the quality of travel experiences they encounter abroad. These have been made consistently available to the discerning traveller by highly successful homegrown hospitality chains.