Reviving The Industry From 9/11 Impact Is Priority: Khullar

Jyoti Koul - New Delhi

S K Khullar, the newly elected president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India, has charted out an action plan to revive the hospitality industry in the country. The immediate attention is being given to business generation in the hospitality industry, which according to him suffered a great deal due to unfortunate events like September 11 besides others which followed it.

In an exclusive to Express Hotelier & Caterer, Khullar revealed, “My immediate focus is to get the industry out of the clutches of the no-show kind of a business scenario post 9/11. FHRAI will be working with its members to bring the hotel rates reasonably down which will eventually boost business in the industry. It has been one year and the industry has still not recovered fully. Therefore, it requires immediate action to ensure that the year ahead proves to be a beneficial one. We all have to work in this direction to bring about prosperity to the industry and seek cooperation of all our members to work out rates which are tourist friendly as well as within the limitations of the hoteliers.”

However, he maintained that taxes prove to be a major deterrent for growth of the hospitality industry and he along with his team will be working toward seeking government’s cooperation for capping the hotel taxes. “It is high time the government realises that current tax structure does not favour the industry and makes accommodation rates expensive,” he said.

Khullar would also focus on increasing membership from the north eastern states. The objective, according to him is to provide a common, active forum for hoteliers to highlight their issues and showcase potential in that region. “It has been realised that tourism in this region has not been well tapped owing to various constraints. Thus, it becomes another focus area for us. We will look in to resolving the issues by initiating a dialogue between the government and the industry.

“We will represent the industry wherever necessary and collectively take up the cause of the industry and see to it that things can be improved. Infrastructure being a crucial issue when it comes to this region, we have realised that even the government is inclined to offer assistance on this front, which is encouraging. The West Bengal state government is enthusiastic about encouraging participation of the private sector in tourism and particularly in the hospitality industry. The chief minister of the state has shown keen interest in the sector and we are hopeful that he will try and create an atmosphere conducive for growth,” he said.

The next FHRAI convention will most likely be held in Kolkata as the associations’ focus rotates in terms of regions. He further added that his priority would also include the associations catering institute, which will come up in New Delhi. “We have formed committees within the association to follow up with the government regarding the land for constructing the institute. Hopefully the project should be fully operational within two and a half years.”