hospitality industry: Hospitality beyond the usual hotspots

India’s hospitality industry is seeking to expand the frontier of tourism in the country. Most of the nation’s branded hotel rooms are located in urban agglomerations, which has restricted tourism to a narrow field. Given the geographical diversity of the subcontinent, its tourism potential has been exploited timidly. This exerts undue strain on the available hospitality infrastructure where available, and leaves large parts of the country underserved. Broadening the tourism portfolio is a fallout of improvements in connectivity India is undergoing. Tourism can be the economic mainstay for several states in India that do not yet figure in choices of leisure travellers. This is for most part due to gaps in the hospitality value chain, such as upscale boarding and dining facilities in new locations.The supply response for tourism infrastructure has tended to favour established tourist attractions or religious centres. These offer comfort over occupancy and billings, but margins are…