Increase in number of hotels proof of tourism sector’s growth, says Banwarilal Purohit

Speaking at Best Hoteliers Performance award and Members Directory release event organized by The Chennai Hotels Association here, he said cities like Chennai, which have seen greater prosperity, have witnessed a more rapid growth of the hotel industry.

He said comfortable hotels and accommodation facilities play a very important role in popularizing travel and tourism. ‘’If a person, who is far away from home, gets to enjoy the same facilities and comforts as he enjoys at his home, then he is certain to propagate the message as well as come again and again,’’ he said.

On the other hand, if the tourist ends up at a place where the hotels and accommodation facilities were not satisfactory, it was quite likely that he might never return to that place, the Governor said.

Noting that technology has played an important role in promoting the prospects for the hotelier industry, Mr Purohit said information about hotels and accommodation facilities displayed on the internet was now available to people quite easily.

There are many websites available on the internet for travel and tourism making bookings and cancellations of rooms in hotels quite simple, besides providing details of hotel location rates, size of rooms, among other things. Stating that the number of people on the move has gone up, he said people were travelling away from home not only for leisure or on a pilgrimage, but also for purposes of work and business.

He said the hotel industry offers food and accommodation to the travellers and also indirectly supports the transportation and construction industry.

The employment opportunities as cooks, stewards and others provide higher incomes for skilled and semi-skilled labour thus promoting prosperity. ‘’But all this will be sustainable in the long term only if the industry as a whole patronizes cleanliness, transparency and reasonableness in pricing with sincerity.’’ he added.