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India May Soon Don ‘Regional Hub’ Status For Global Hospitality & Travel Cos
Savio Rodrigues -Mumbai
International companies in tourism and hospitality are fast seeing the benefits
of choosing India as their regional hub for south Asia to spearhead expansions
and operations. Apart from the few that are already based out of India, more
are expected to toe the trend, chiefly citing operational ease and cost effectiveness.
While Thomas Cook, Hyatt International, GET Lionel and InterContinental have
already set up operations for their south Asian operations in India, global
travel and hospitality conglomerate Cendant is next in line to make the country
its centre for operations in this region. Industry watchers forecast that the
present upswing in South Asia’s travel and hotel business is spurring development
activity in this region. Further, offices stationed in Dubai or Singapore are
proving to be unfeasible in comparison to India, now that air access to the
country and infrastructure within is no longer a major concern.
According to Ratnesh Verma, area director, Hyatt International,
“On the global scene, India and China are the two most emerging markets.
Initially, the south Asian market was fairly embryonic on the worldwide competitive
barometer; therefore operations for these regions were handled from Dubai, Singapore
or Hong Kong. Now however, most international companies have managed to overcome
their inhibitions towards the Indian sector and are aggressively vying for a
share of India’s hospitality pie. Hence, it makes great business sense
to operate from India.”
Of a similar opinion, the newly appointed head of growth
and development- Indian Ocean and Middle East for the Cendant Corporation in
India, Sunil Mathur, said,“It is only a matter of time when most hotel
and travel companies with a keen intention in the south Asian market will move
their operational base to India. It is an economical option.”
The Asian operations of Global Experts in Travel (GET), a
global travel management company are based out of its Indian representative,
GET Lionel, a KK Birla Company. Its CEO Gaurav Sundaram said,“We
are GET's biggest partners in Asia, therefore by that token, our office in Bangalore
is the central point for coordination for all Asian markets, which comprise
of Phillipines, South Korea, Singapore and HongKong."
Envisaging a growing trend, Homi Aibara, partner, Mahajan
& Aibara, expressed that India is certainly a promising alternative
as a regional corporate base, especially if the Indian sub-continent is the
core area of focus. However, India needs to improve on its much-needed infrastructure
if they have to see full-fledged corporate office moving to its shores. At the
moment, most international hotel and travel companies with a presence in India
do not operate on full strength as a regional hub.
Rajiv Sharma, head-development South Asia, InterContinental
Group, echoing a smiliar thought elucidated that in the future there is
no doubt that India will emerge as a regional hub of operations for many international
companies in the business of travel and hospitality but this phenomenon is nascent
at this stage and India has got a long way to go before it achieves infrastructure
or governance like Singapore or Dubai.
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