The Hotel Association of India welcomes Minister Shekhawat and team with renewed hope, and a commitment to work together to take India tourism & Hospitality to the next level
India has recently concluded the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the country has accepted Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the third consecutive term with the hope of becoming the top 3 economies and a preferred tourist destination. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will be leading the Tourism Ministry in the Modi.3 cabinet with Suresh Gopi, Minister of State for Tourism.
Speaking on the new ministerial appointments K.B. Kachru, President, Hotel Association of India and Chairman – South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group highlighted,
“The Hotel Association of India (HAI) felicitates and welcomes the newly appointed Tourism Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and conveys its wholehearted commitment and support to the India tourism vision 2047”
“Hailing from Rajasthan, a state that has a robust tourism sector built on forward looking policies that facilitate Tourism Establishments augurs well for the industry. We are all aware of the socio-economic importance of the tourism industry. Hotel Industry is a key pillar of both domestic and international tourism. In the year 2019- 20, 39 million jobs were created in the tourism sector in India, majority of which were in hotels. The industry has shown extreme resilience and bounced back to pre-covid levels. It is the emerging engine of GDP growth and employment. It can contribute significantly to the India Vision 2047 of a “viksit” Bharat and the government’s objective of promoting sustainable and inclusive growth. We are hopeful that the new leadership will build on the work done so far and make the industry’s wish list of according of “infrastructure status” and extending of “industry” benefits to hotels a reality. We look forward to working closely and collaborating with the Ministry to showcase India’s rich heritage and promote it as a preferred destination for tourists and for MICE,” Kachru added.
Rohit Khosla, Vice President, Hotel Association of India and Executive Vice President (Ops.), the Indian Hotels Company Limited said, “HAI welcomes the newly appointed Tourism Minister, Shri Gajendra Shekhawat, looks forward to strengthening India’s hospitality sector. Indian hotels have been recognized as among the best in the region as well as in the world both by business travelers and those travelling for leisure. HAI member hotels have imbibed India’s age-old tradition of “Atithi Devo Bhava” in their operations. Indian hotel companies are managing hotels in foreign shores and making the nation proud. The multiplier effect of hotels on the economy is higher than that of other sectors. In addition, hotels contribute to several SDGs. HAI looks forward to working closely with the ministry during the current Amrit Kaal to realize India tourism vision 2047 of a developed nation as the nation turns 100. Indian Hospitality is looking to contribute USD1 trillion to the US 3 trillion tourism economy by 2047. All this can be possible only with the help of key policy interventions by the government.”
MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General, Hotel Association of India said, “We welcome Shri Gajendra Shekhawat, as the Honourable Minister for Tourism & Culture. He hails from Jodhpur in Rajasthan and served in the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the previous regime. HAI looks forward to a fructification of ongoing efforts on several fronts like the National Tourism Policy 2022; Establishment of a National Tourism Board and to develop tourism in “challenge mode ‘developing destinations and hotels in the true spirit of public private partnership based on collaboration and consultations between the ministry and the industry. India’s tourism potential is huge and largely untapped. Hotels as key tourism infrastructure can create jobs across skill sets even in the remotest corner of the country.”
