Introduction
Article Type: Editorials From: Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Volume 1, Issue 1
Welcome to Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT)Volume 1, Number 1. Our aim is to make a practical and theoretical contribution to the sustainable development of the worldwide hospitality and tourism industry. Each theme issue addresses a significant industry challenge –starting from a strategic question and leading to outcomes that are practical and implementable. To accomplish this task, theme editors assemble a team of academics who collaborate with industry practitioners in the analysis and development of possible solutions. The intended outcome of peer review is a themed collection of clear and concisely written, accessible articles that contain insights, analysis and authoritative responses to industry challenges.
This theme issue explores some of the key issues relating to hospitality and tourism development in India and I should like to thank the Theme Editor, Dr Vinnie Jauhari and her team of researchers, writers and industry experts for their work. To discuss the main challenges, the Institute for International Management & Technology (IIMT) in Gurgaon, India organized a roundtable meeting between industry experts and academics. I should like to join Vinnie in thanking the Institute’s Director and staff for hosting the event.
If you have a key industry challenge in mind that you would like to address via a WHATT theme issue, do please contact me.
Richard TeareManaging Editor
What contribution will hospitality and tourism make in securing sustainable economic growth in India?
India is undergoing rapid economic development and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development anticipates that it will become the world’s third largest economy by the year 2050. India is already a leading destination for information technology enabled services and outsourcing and with so much foreign investment taking place there has been an increase in both leisure and business travel. Disposable income in India has grown by 10.11 per cent annually and much of that is being spent on travel (www.economywatch.com, 2008). To assist with the development of international tourism, the Government of India launched the“Incredible India” campaign and this has led to an increased inflow of tourists.
This thematic issue addresses a range of challenges for hospitality and tourism in India and the Industry’s role in supporting on-going economic growth. Our aim is to review and assess these challenges with input and assistance from industry practitioners. To facilitate this, a roundtable discussion was organized so that academics and industry experts could explore the key challenges and possible solutions.
The theme issues discussed at the roundtable meeting were: infrastructure investment; government policy on licenses and the development cycle for new projects; crisis management; workforce issues and competencies; hospitality education; destination marketing; property management; the deployment of online channels for communicating with potential tourists; strategies for growth and franchising as an option for growth.
The seven articles featured in this theme issue range across all of these topics and draw upon the roundtable viewpoints of experienced industry practitioners. I should like to thank the team of 13 academic and industry contributors and the five industry experts and four academics who participated in the roundtable discussion. We hope that our analysis and recommendations will provide a practical insight on the key issues influencing that role that tourism and hospitality is playing in India’s economy and that our action points will be of value to government, industry and education.
Vinnie JauhariTheme Editor
About the Theme Editor
Vinnie Jauhari is the Region Lead for India for HP Labs Open Innovation Office. She is also an Adjunct Professor at IIMT. She was formerly Head of the School of Management and Entrepreneurship at IIMT and is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Services Research. She has authored more than 100 publications in national and international journals and books on business strategy, services management, readings in services management and case studies of the hospitality industry. She is widely travelled and has been a speaker at numerous international conferences. She is a member of the editorial board of International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
