The pandemic has brought an abrupt disruption across the industries and the hospitality has adapted exceptionally to the uncertainties brought by Covid-19. In India, the resilient industry has adopted swiftly towards providing safe and contactless services. Suresh Nanda, chairman of Claridges Group of Hotels, has said that the rapid adoption of changes and subsequent evolution in the services is because of the rapid spread of coronavirus. He says, “The pandemic has fostered the speed of the change in the already fast-moving world. This time, the brands did not get time for the technical evolutions and they were forced to embrace the changes in this new world where social distancing is the new normal.”
He also talked about the Induction of Technology in Hospitality to tackle the abrupt disruption. Nanda said that in the pre-pandemic era where everything was manual, now “Hospitality is trying to automate things as much as possible and this is the global phenomenon of change.” Nanda also said that technical advances were considered as luxury in the past, now it has become the need of the time. “You might witness this phenomenon during your stays worldwide very frequently,” adds Suresh Nanda.
Interestingly, he also said that many people will get more aware about protecting and promoting healthy environment once pandemic will get over. “Today, when the whole world has experienced being locked at home, people are expected to become more concerned about environment protection and nature conservation.” Nanda believes that there will be an enhanced use of technology for preserving the environment. “With automation, it is going to reduce the wastage in energy. Moreover, the players in the sector are going to care about the environment by promoting proper management of resources,” he adds.
He also said that this is an opportunity for all the travellers to visit different corners of India. Suresh Nanda says, “For all the inveterate travellers, restriction on international tourism is an opportunity to explore India to the fullest. As the Prime Minister of India recently called for being vocal for local, what can be a better opportunity? Travelling locally will not only help you understand your nation better but will also help the local tour and travel businesses economically which is crucial for our hospitality industry as it constitutes the lion’s share in the sector.”