Ever-evolving Landscape: A Review of Luxury Hotels in India

Abstract

In recent years, a lot of new Luxury hotels have opened and are expected to open in the near future. The hospitality segment in India is attracting much attention from investors. New investors and existing hotels have robust expansion plans in India, and therefore, they are introducing new brands within their existing portfolios in India. A comprehensive view of the hospitality industry in India is crucial to understand how this industry grew from the first hotel during the British Raj in India to a holistic 1201 luxury hotels with a total inventory of 144047 rooms that cover the geographical landscape of India today [1]. Tourism is significant in India for various reasons such as geographic landscape, flora-fauna, diverse culture, traditional values, heritage & history, proliferation in imports/ exports and the advent of Multi-Nationals. These reasons have helped to amplify tourism in India [3]. The growth of Luxury hotels has happened tremendously to meet the demand.

-The importance of this sector has grown day by day, and therefore it is also prominently known as a rising industry of India. Flourishment and downfall are the two facets of the same coin. Similarly, if one side of this industry has set new benchmarks, at the same time, downfalls are also not untouched. Time to time this industry has faced numerous challenges from time to time, including impact on tourism due to safety hazards i.e. terrorism, extreme climate issues i.e. cyclone, floods, seasonality, health alarming crisis like SARS and H1N1 Swine flu and economic slump. Despite all these hurdles, the Tourism industry has witnessed a wide revolution and expansion over a period. The tourism industry has become an emerging source of foreign exchange for the country [3]. and has contributed significantly to Foreign Direct Investment compared to other industries in India (Sanjeev & Birdie, 2019). Not only the past records but also the current state of Covid-19, domestic tourism has shown green flags in several markets. The Hospitality Industry has shown its importance in the pre-pandemic era by its contribution to the country's GDP, but it has also stood firm and shown its resilience in these unprecedented times [2].