TravTalk India Online Magazine
Apart from infrastructure and industry status, ‘star classification’ is another key factor for the progress of hospitality industry. MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General, HAI, says linking ‘industry status’ incentives with ‘star classification’ will help elevate the service standards of hotels, as well as visitors’ confidence.
Lipla Negi
Infrastructure and industry status top the agenda for the Hotel Association of India (HAI) in 2024. Both are essential for energizing the hotel industry.
Another factor that instills confidence in the sector is ‘star classification’. “Classification is a time-tested procedure for the hotel industry, as well as the tourism industry. It is an essential step because it is a mark of quality and promises that a set of standards is being followed by a hotel. In fact, when a hotel has this mark from the government, it brings in a lot of confidence at a time when it is needed the most. During COVID, as you know, confidence was the major factor. People showed confidence in the industry and started travelling with full fervour,” says MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General, HAI. “Indeed, the road to recovery for the sector wouldn’t have been possible without the traveller’s confidence,” he adds.
Besides confidence, hotel classification also serves as a trust factor for domestic and international guests when it comes to safety, hygiene, and service quality. Bezbaruah stresses on the need to expedite the process.
“Delegating responsibility to some local authorities and local agencies instead of centrally controlling the whole process can help. We can also think of outsourcing the initial benchmarking to some of the recognized agencies who will do the first screening and then the government agencies can come in and give the final certification. We need to think of out-of-the-box solutions as there has been so much backlog that the matter needs to be very thoroughly looked into,” he opines. Linking the benefits of industry status, such as subsidized power tariffs, lower property tax, and long-term loans, with ‘star classification’ will help accelerate the growth of hotels in certain regions like the north-east, he underlines. “If you look at the Government of India’s statistics book, you will find only about registered 15 to 16 hotels in the north-east region, as if those are the only hotels around there. There are hundreds and thousands of hotels in the north-east, but they are not verified as per the standards laid down by the Ministry of Tourism. So, we must encourage them by providing certain benefits that help them in increasing their production, output, and profits,” he says.
He further underscores the role of State Tourism Boards in taking the initiative of recognizing the hotel sector with ‘industry status’, which encourages the sector to generate more revenue and employment in the region.
