HBI Staff | Hyderabad 
The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India ( FHRAI) Centre of Excellence has released a comprehensive report on the Ease of Doing Business in the Hospitality Industry on the sidelines of 54th Convention. This report highlights the main challenges faced by the industry and provides important recommendations for improving the business environment. The report was developed after consulting over 500 key stakeholders, including hotel owners, operators, regulators, and industry associations, with the aim of offering practical insights to help the sector grow in India.
The report explains that the hospitality industry, a key part of the travel and tourism sector, plays an important role in driving economic growth, creating jobs, and supporting social development. In 2019, the global travel and tourism sector contributed 10.4% to global GDP, which was about US$ 9.2 trillion, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). However, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced this figure to 9.6% in 2022, amounting to around US$ 8.6 trillion. Despite this setback, the industry is bouncing back, with projections from Statista, showing that the sector’s contribution to global GDP could reach US$ 11.1 trillion by 2024 and US$ 16 trillion by 2034.
The report also highlights that the hospitality industry directly contributes 5-6% to global GDP and is one of the largest job providers. In 2019, it supported 334 million jobs worldwide, or 10% of the global workforce. While this number fell to 300 million in 2022 due to the pandemic, the industry remains a major employer. In India, before the pandemic, the hospitality and tourism sector contributed 9.2% to GDP and created around 42 million jobs.
Despite its potential, the hospitality sector in India faces several operational challenges. The report identifies issues such as complicated regulatory compliance, complex licensing procedures, delays in getting approvals, and the high costs of compliance. These challenges are preventing the sector from reaching its full potential.
FHRAI believes that addressing these challenges and implementing the recommended reforms will allow India’s hospitality sector to play a key role in the national goal of building a US$ 3 trillion tourism economy by 2047 under the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat.
