Hotel, Hospitality and Tourism are three very similar fields that are often clubbed together, for the sake of simplicity. Another reason is whether you are pursuing a course in Hotel Management, travel and tourism or hospitality in India, you will definitely get familiar with the other two as well.

Hotel management is one of the most popular choices in India. This is because the career opportunities after hotel or hospitality management are limitless in India as well as the international market. And this makes it valuable course for any person who has the skills required to succeed in the hotel management industry.

The hospitality and tourism industry has been witnessing a healthy growth number and accounted for 7.5% of the GDP. India ranks 1st in the greenfield FDI ranking globally and to strengthen the cruise tourism sector, the Government of India (GoI) has selected Chennai, Goa, Kochi, Mangalore, and Mumbai ports to develop them as cruise tourism hubs. These terminals will have facilities like hospitality, retail, shopping, and restaurants.

Less than three million foreign tourists visited India in 2020, a dip of around 75 per cent as compared to the previous year, due to travel restrictions imposed to control the coronavirus pandemic. “To incentivize stakeholders in the tourism industry, the guidelines for the scheme of Market Development Assistance (MDA) for providing financial support to stakeholders for the promotion of domestic tourism have been modified to enhance the scope and reach of the scheme, to provide maximum benefits to the stakeholders. In addition, promotional activities have been incorporated including online promotions and the extent of financial assistance permissible has been enhanced.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s hotel sector is one of the worst-hit segments of the economy, contracted by 47% in April-June 2020, as per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on August 31, 2020.

The hospitality industry in India witnessed a growth of 84.7% in revenue during the second quarter of 2021 (April-June) as compared to 2020

Demand and supply of operational inventory in six major cities increased by 186% and 14% respectively in the second quarter of 2021 as compared to the same period last year.

Whilst 2021 has been extremely hard on hospitality sector given the brutal second wave, we take some encouragement from the way business has resumed. Flights are filling up; holiday destinations are running full house and we have witnessed pick up in wedding bookings too. F&B dining though remains slow and continues to be driven by home delivery orders.

Indian tourism industry bears a colossal potential with a rich heritage and diverse ecology. A large market that offers adventure, sports, wellness, eco-tourism, film, religious tourism and so much more which helps to create jobs in the country.

According to the surveys 100 million jobs will return to the travel and tourism industry across the globe. The Indian travel and tourism industry has accounted for about 8.1% of the total employment opportunities by generating more than 42 million jobs, with an addition of 9-10% jobs each year.

Several initiatives have been launched by the government like Athiti Devo Bhava and the desire to make Incredible India are all focuses towards achieving a considerable share in the world’s international tourist arrivals by 2025.

The years 2022 and years after will be the business recovery period for the hospitality sector. The pandemic brought about downsizing of capacity and human resources. A large number of part-time and contract workers were rendered jobless and hotels gave up their expansion plans.

The travel/tourism/hotel/hospitality industry is buzzing with activity as the world moves beyond the pandemic with renewed confidence following aggressive vaccination drives. In India, the festive holiday season is seeing tourists throng popular, as well as offbeat, destinations with vigour. The return of travellers now reaffirms the potential of travel and hospitality sector in the new normal.

The resurgence of travel being witnessed in the US, Europe, and Asia will only gain momentum with each month. Health experts in India are now of the opinion that the country has mostly succeeded in avoiding a third wave.

Now, the travel sector is going to witness a rapid surge and rebuilding or expansion of capacity has to be a top priority. There is a major shortage of staff as a lot of workers who lost jobs last year might not work in the travel sector anymore.

This is why companies need to rapidly hire new people. The time now is ripe for the players to start retraining their personnel, mobilizing the infrastructure and preparing for a boom that is no more than a quarter or two away in most regions.