Full house at 52nd FHRAI Convention

The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India recently concluded its annual convention for the year, where industry stakeholders congregated for pertinent and impactful deliberations.

The 52nd FHRAI Annual Convention was held at Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru, from September 14-16, 2017. At the threeday event, delegates got a chance to attend panel discussions on relevant topics and were able to network with fellow hoteliers. The theme chosen for this year’s convention was ‘Hospitality 2025 – The Future is Now’. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who blessed the function. Ananth Kumar, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers; Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister of State, Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha; R.V. Deshpande, Minister for Large & Medium Industries & Infrastructure Development, Government of Karnataka, and many other dignitaries were also present at the event. The convention had expected 600 delegates but more than a 1000 registered.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, said, “Hospitality is in the DNA of Indians just like teamwork is in the DNA of the Japanese, precision in that of the Germans, etiquette in the English, and marketing in the Americans. India is still lagging behind and needs improvement in infrastructure. We need to have Greece as the benchmark where tourism is soaring. We should host food festivals more often. Also, there is a need for more and more hotels. We do not necessarily have to ape the Europeans, we can set our own standards; an indigenous touch is always welcome. Apart from this, India needs more colleges to train youngsters.”

Addressing the audience at the convention, Deshpande said, “Tourism is the highest employment generator but India’s biggest concern is still employment as automation is taking over the human touch. Infrastructure has to definitely be looked at and we are getting there. Karnataka has the best connectivity in the entire country with some of the best national and district highways. Karnataka has always been a visionary state. Whenever I travel abroad, I no longer have to explain which part of the country Bengaluru belongs to. The city has all kinds of tourism opportunities; there isn’t anything that it doesn’t have.”