Hot Seat

Advocating hospitality

Having completed nearly four decades in the hospitality and travel industry, secretary general of Southern India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA) R Rangachari reveals the private side of his public persona to Preeti Kannan

Advocate, tourism officer, director of the hotel division in the Government of India's tourism department, and secretary general of Southern India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA) - R Rangachari has worn many hats in his long innings in the industry, including that of a tourism representative for the Government of India. In conversation, it is hard to believe that this unassuming veteran was a practising advocate before he gave up law to follow his heart. Born into an orthodox Tamil family, his grandfather, a judge, was naturally a little disappointed when the promising 26-year old decided to opt out of the profession to become a 'mere' tourist officer.

Ask him what propelled his move from a conventional career to a virtually unheard of field forty years back, he quips, "A passion to travel. I had an urge to become something in short time, but in the judiciary it is a long wait. I nurtured a passion to see the world and had an inclination to interact with new people. So when I saw an opening in a newspaper for a tourist officer with the Government of India, I jumped at it, though I knew my family would feel a little let down by my move." This started a new chapter in his life - a long journey essayed in dual roles - in the government and public sector.

Humble beginnings

Beginning as a tourist officer in the South Indian city of Chennai in 1963, Rangachari entered the industry at a time when tourism was not a priority for the government. It was, in fact, a stint in Mumbai in 1966 that turned out to be an eye-opener for this budding tourist officer and changed his perception about the country's tourism industry. The city's big hotels and ships dotting the port left an inedible mark on his mind, and he realised the potential of tourism and the impact that private players could have, if they entered into the arena.

Around the same time, neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka were attracting inbound tourists, and naturally, India was inclined to do the same. Since there were no private players willing to bet on hospitality, the Department of Tourism began travel lodges to cater to travellers. Soon, realisation dawned that hospitality was not its forte, and so the Indian Tourist Development Corporation (ITDC) was born to fill this gap, and the travel lodges were handed over to ITDC. This transition, Rangachari says, was his first tryst with the hospitality industry as an official with the Department of Tourism.

Later, he was its assistant director in Chennai, only to be posted in Mumbai and then sent to Miami to promote India in southeast American states. This was yet another turning point for the enthusiastic official, who went on to become one of the founding members of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in Florida. When he came back to India four years later, the hotel industry was slowly opening up to attract private players.

Home ahoy

Even as tourism and its periphery industries were slowly seeing a spurt in growth, Rangachari moved to Guwahati as the regional director, Department of Tourism, for the north-eastern states. His brief was to bring the tourism industry in the limelight by creating awareness in the seven north eastern states and Sikkim - relatively untouched by tourism. As the regional director, he was able to form the North Eastern Development Council. The council was an effective tool to encourage the states to look within their unbounded resources to develop tourism in its natural form, besides promoting colourful festivals.

His next stint was in Scandinavia, as director of India Tourism, based in Stockholm, where he noticed that there was heavy charter traffic from the country to Sri Lanka. After much persuasion, he and the India Tourism office managed to coax operators to charter flights between Finland and Goa.

After Rangachari came back to India in 1992, he was given the reigns of hotel division of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), with a focus on protecting the interests of the industry members. After retiring from the MoT, he then joined the Indian Convention Promotion Bureau (an initiative of the MoT to promote MICE) in Ashoka Hotel New Delhi, as its executive director to develop the concept of convention tourism in India and attract MICE tourism into the country.

After retiring from the government, he was invited to join the board of SIHRA in 1996, . His role includes lending his expertise and contributing his knowledge for the benefit of the hospitality industry, advising members and donning the role of the association's spokesperson, while liasioning with the government. He slid into this with ease, being one of the few industry veterans to have worked on both sides of the fence. "My present job is to impress the government the potential of hospitality and tourism," he asserts.

Ask him if he has any regrets and he says with humility, "My ambition was to achieve more. I always wanted to create more awareness about the uniqueness of India in different countries I worked in. While our campaigns were successful in most countries, my biggest regret is that inbound traffic from Europe is low."

Despite spearheading the cause of hoteliers and convincing governments to give the necessary sops to the hotel industry, a role he has essayed for over a decade, Rangachari concedes that had retirement not pressed on him, he would have continued with the government. "Today, the tourism scenario has changed drastically from what it was a few years back and there is tremendous opportunity to explore new avenues. The government is a decision-maker and has the ability to deliver goods. Every government which comes to power accords a lot of priority to the industry, because of the wide ramifications it has on employment and development," he points out.

At the ripe-old age of sixty-nine, Rangachari confesses that today, he is content and a happy man. There are rumours in the industry that his tenure in SIHRA is coming to an end. "Even after my tenure, I want to help the hospitality industry. I am a standing example of public-private partnership," he jokes, a testament to the integral role he played, during his tenure with the government and the private sector.