The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) recently participated in the Mumbai Roadshow organized by Ministry of Tourism (MoT), GoI held on 27th April in the city. The Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNER G. Kishan Reddy chaired the Roadshow along with senior Ministerial officers and was attended by delegates of HRAWI. GTIS aims to showcase Indian tourism and hospitality industry as a major ‘Investment Destination’, offer discussions and partnerships opportunities for investments in the Indian tourism and serve as bouquet of tangible investment ready projects for investors. The Association has lauded the initiative and offered its support to make the Summit a grand success. It added that the GTIS presents a unique opportunity to showcase India’s vast potential as a tourism destination and attract investments into the sector.
“HRAWI commends the Government’s efforts in organizing the first GTIS, and we believe it is a promising development for the hospitality sector. We thank the Hon’ble Minister for including us in the initiative and for seeking our suggestions to make the event a success. As the voice of the hospitality industry in the Western region, HRAWI will play a vital role in supporting the initiative by acting as a bridge between the Government, investors and the tourism industry to create a conducive environment for investments in the sector. The hospitality industry is thrilled to be part of this initiative which aims to propel the growth of tourism and hospitality in the country, to make it one of the most preferred investment destinations in the world. In our recent meeting during the Mumbai Roadshow, we discussed the scope of tourism and investment opportunities as well as brought to the Minister’s attention challenges faced by the industry. We soon will submit details related to investment and employment generation across the region along with representations to the MoT,” says Pradeep Shetty, President, HRAWI.
As part of the Roadshow a Business Seminar was organized which included presentations by Tourism Department from various States including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and by Ashish Gupta, CEO, FAITH. The seminar was attended by HRAWI’s President – Pradeep Shetty; Vice President – Nirav Gandhi; Secretary General -Kunal Gujral, Vishal Kapoor; Sanjay Sethi and Rishi Mehra, among others. The business seminar was followed by a close-door roundtable discussion chaired by G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture, and DoNER along with Prashant Ranjan (IRS) Director Tourism, MoT; Saurabh Vijay (I.A.S.), Principal Secretary, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Government of Maharashtra and other Tourism Department Officials of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; and Regional Directors from South, Central and Venkatesan Dhattareyan from Western Zone of India. The industry stakeholders discussed investment and tourism opportunities in Western India and highlighted important policy changes and implementations including industry status, access to solar energy, subsidies, flights to tier II and tier III cities and addressed concerns of debt to equity ratio, among other things.
“As part of the roundtable discussions with the Hon’ble Minister, we’ve made a few crucial recommendations that are potential game changers for the tourism industry in the Western region. HRAWI has proposed the development of 700 km coastline which has the potential to invite Rs.5000 Cr in investments and also all airports and railway stations to have budget and quality accommodation. This will lead to employment generation and the creation of a vibrant tourism hub in the region. The Minister has taken our inputs on the industry’s long standing demand for Infrastructure Status. We apprised him on the nature of hospitality business which is highly capital intensive and its dependency on seasonal business. Among other suggestions, we also requested the Minister to include business travel segment in the draft tourism policy,” says Nirav Gandhi, Vice President, HRAWI.
“India’s tourism sector is uniquely diverse and offers immense potential for growth and development. We are thrilled to see the Government’s initiatives to promote tourism and hospitality at this scale and as stakeholders in the industry; we look forward to collaborating with the Government to contribute in the growth of the sector,” concludes Shetty.
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