THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DELHI

• Good Evening

It is indeed heartening to see Captains from the hospitality, travel & tourism sector from across the country, present here today. You have gathered here today to discuss the theme of ‘Hospitality as the Engine of GDP Growth and Employment’. It is indeed a timely and important subject, and I am happy that you have chosen to deliberate upon it. 

 

यही समय है, और सही समय है

• Despite having suffered the most during the COVID pandemic, the hospitality industry has made a remarkable comeback. My congratulations to you, for achieving the same. 

 

• Dear Friends,

 

As I understand, the hospitality industry is a vast umbrella, which embraces, diverse verticals, like Lodging & Accommodation, Travel & Tourism, Food & Beverages, Entertainment & Recreation and Conferences & Meetings. All these sectors have witnessed a robust growth and with a size of about 25 billion US dollars in 2024, contributes about 7.5 per cent to the overall GDP.

 

• The hospitality sector holds enormous potential to serve as a growth engine of India’s future development. More importantly, it holds the capacity to generate, create and sustain direct as well as indirect employment for millions of youth of this country. Presently, it accounts about 18 per cent share in jobs.

 

• Despite its growth having been moderate due to the pandemic during the past 05 years, it is projected to maintain a combined annual growth rate of about 4.73 per cent during the next 5 years.

 

• The consistent efforts being made under the leadership of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for making a New India, will go a long way in making Bharat a favoured tourist destination globally. These efforts have helped the Hospitality and Tourism Industry immensely. Apart from an overall increase in the spending capacity of the people, new Airports, better Train connectivity, Expressways and redevelopment of various leisure and cultural destinations have proven to be unprecedented catalysts in the development of the sector.

 

• With the advent of regional air services under उड़ान and fast improving Rail and Road networks, it has become easier to reach locations which earlier took long to get to.  The number of Airports in the country has significantly gone up from from 74 to 148 in last 10 yrs. These include 32 International and 09 limited international airports. Helicopter services have either been rolled out or being planned in several states to promote quick connectivity in states like J&K, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Arunanchal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh.

 

• This will immensely help the tourism sector in these states. New luxury trains like Vande Bharat have been launched and new expressways have made mobility easier and faster.

 

• Hon’ble Prime Minister has recently given a clarion call for a push and development of domestic tourism with ‘देखो अपना देश’. India is a vast and diverse country with so many avenues and locations which have yet not been seen by us. As a result of this, a large number of hidden destinations, particularly those in the Leh-Ladakh & J&K region and North Eastern states have begun unleashing their full potential to attract domestic as well as foreign tourists in large number.

 

• India’s 7500 km long coastal stretch is another area with huge opportunity, for tourism and employment generation. The islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar are second to none in terms of natural beauty and the tourism potential. I would request all of you to take the lead in venturing into this unexplored and pristine destinations and create world class infrastructure. If, small island nations, can attract millions of tourists on the strength of their infrastructure, surely we can do better.

 

• The roll out of high speed trains like Vande Bharat and Tejas and innovations like vista-dome coaches, have changed the face of rail transport in India. 41 Vande Bharat trains connecting cities within a distance of 800 KM have been launched so far.

 

• The hospitality sector, as I mentioned earlier, is a catalyst for socio-economic growth. It also remains one of the top sectors attracting foreign investment in India. The industry is also an important source for generating foreign exchange for the country.

 

• Delhi is the capital of India. It is also home to a glorious heritage. It is supported by excellent connectivity. As such, it can be one of the major hubs of growth for the Hospitality Sector. The Hospitality Sector in Delhi has grown remarkably in recent times.  This has been mainly because of the recently hosted G20 Summit. However, Delhi is yet to realise its full potential.

 

• When compared to other global destinations, Delhi lags in the Hospitality Sector. Its associated parameters like Night Dining, Open Air Eateries & a vibrant Night Economy are largely missing.

 

• There have been various legacy issues like licensing and regulations. Because of these, enabling support systems have remained very restrictive and discouraging in Delhi. However, it has been my endeavour to address the issues with an open mind and sort them out. I am happy to share that we have taken many decisions to encourage and promote ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the National Capital.

 

• During the last one year we gave permissions to 667 establishments to operate on a 24X7 basis. These permissions had been pending since 2016 with the local government.

 

• With my interventions, the MCD has now started granting licences for Open Space Dining to existing eateries. This has generated a robust response from about 300 establishments, which have already started doing so.

 

• A major reform in the old licensing regime was introduced with a modified Unified Portal for Licensing of Eating & Boarding/Lodging establishments in Delhi. The licences that were earlier taking 03 years to be issued, can now be obtained in just 49 days. With the modified Portal in place, an applicant can now seek a fresh license or renew the older one by getting simultaneous permissions from all 04 regulatory agencies. These agencies include Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Pollution Control Committee and MCD/NDMC on a single window, without any human interface.

 

• The most notable feature of this Portal is the provision of deemed approval of license. This means, if the permission or the license is not granted in the prescribed 49 days by the respective agency, the applicant is deemed to have obtained it automatically. This is a first of its kind initiative in the country, which aims at rationalizing and simplifying the licensing procedure.

 

• The documents required for grant of such clearances has been reduced to mere 28 from a staggering 103 earlier. Online - faceless Police Clearance Certificate have replaced physical verification by Local Police. Licenses are now being granted for 03 years by MCD, Delhi Police and Delhi Fire Service. Earlier these were issued only for 01 year.

 

• Imagine a foreign tourist, who after a red eye flight from New York past midnight, wishes to unwind at a restaurant or a bar in a hotel in Delhi. He would have been disappointed to discover that room service was the only option. That bottleneck has been removed. Now, the Restaurants and the Bars in Five and Four Star Hotels are allowed to operate on a 24x7 basis, while those in Three Star Hotels can operate till 02:00 AM. This is a big step taken by me particularly in order to cater to the international tourists arriving in Delhi, checking in their hotels mostly during the night hours. All other similar establishments are allowed to operate till 01:00 AM, which used to be only till 11:00 PM earlier.

 

• Concerted efforts were undertaken during the last one & a half year to develop new destinations for residents of Delhi and tourists. Attempts at persevering and restoring heritage to make them more attractive, have been undertaken by the DDA. Massive efforts have been made to change the City roadscape by way of aesthetic upgradation. More than 150 fountains and over 100 sculptures are now finding place of pride, along key roads. All these are aimed at making Delhi more tourist friendly. I am sure, that these will go a long way, in aiding the Hospitality Sector.

 

• Cleanliness of the city has been accorded a high priority and I am sure all of you would have seen a noticeable improvement in the surroundings of your hotels. We are determined to change the aesthetic of Delhi.

 

• Lush green open public spaces with musical fountains, water bodies and cafeteria have come up at newly developed theme parks of Baansera and Asita on the west and east banks of the Yamuna. These land spaces have been reclaimed from encroachment and waste. These newly green assets are attracting thousands of visitors.

 

• The DDA Mehrauli Archaeological Park, replete with restored medieval heritage structures, an amphitheatre, a water body and a café has emerged as a visitor’s delight. The same is visible on various social media platforms like Instagram.

 

• The Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan and Yashobhoomi in Dwarka have come up as world class convention centres. These have emerged as over booked destinations for conventions, meetings, exhibitions and workshops. These venues have the capacity to organize national and international conferences and exhibitions and hence, have a potential to attract huge footfall in Delhi from abroad. You will be surprised to know that these venues are already booked for one year in advance.

 

• The historic St. James Church in old Delhi and the Lala Hardayal Public Library, have been recently restored to their deserving glory. They have become destinations attracting heavy foot fall.

 

• All of you must have experienced and seen for yourself the change that the City streets have undergone recently. The change is visible right from the time, that one enters the City from the IGI Airport. Various vistas of New Delhi to the Raj Ghat and the ISBT, now have a new look. The roads, all of you must have seen, are adorned with life size statutes and artefacts, fountains and vertical gardens. Even the street where we sit today – the Sardar Patel Marg has undergone a transformation, that is a visual delight.

 

• It is my ambition that all leading corporate houses, Indian and foreign should establish hubs for their business in Delhi. It is also my desire to create a gold souk, which brings together jewellers, artisans, retailers and banks in a common infrastructure.

 

• Dear Friends,

All these steps directly augment the Hospitality Sector and help all associated parameters in terms of an enabling ecosystem.

 

• Towards the end of my Keynote address, I would like to underline that even as the state enables you and your businesses, there lies upon you a corresponding responsibility towards the society. I would request you to proactively come forward and partner with the government in all our efforts of enabling you. You can do this by playing your own role responsibly with regards to garbage disposal, disbursement of unused food to the needy, environment protection by way of water conservation, single use plastic mitigation and use of green energy.

 

• And above all, better services to your consumers in terms of quality as well as cost, should be your guiding principles. I would also invite the hotel association to come forward and partner with us to establish hospitality skilling centres, for which we can provide infrastructure.

 

• I would also urge all Hotels to adopt one road and take responsibility for its greenery and beautification.

 

• Indian hotels have established strong traditions of world class hospitality, which draw upon Indian traditions of atithi devo bhava. I wish you, all the best, and hope that you will always put your best foot forward with maximum innovations, ingenuity and efforts for the success of Indian hospitality, travel & tourism and F&B Sectors. Your efforts in strengthening the hospitality sector will play a key role in employment generation and nation building

 

Jai Hind.

 

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