HOTELS in India seeking official classification will only need to produce their trade licence and bar licence under the newly simplified process, announced the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) last week.
Furthermore, properties close to airports will only need to hand in an affidavit with their applications. In the past, some 10 to 12 different licences were required from various government and civic departments.
Anand Kumar, joint secretary, MoT, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the streamlining was decided on in line with policies of the new government and to ensure effective service delivery.
The ministry is also mulling granting five-star status to hotels without bars on site.
Rajesh Punjabi, vice president, development – India, Hilton Worldwide, said: “While this measure is welcomed for the purposes of classification, we believe, a real impact to incentivise development in the hospitality industry will be seen if the licensing requirements and procedures are simplified (further).”
“The previous practice of obtaining several (licences) before a developer can apply for a hotel classification has been time consuming and counter-productive. With this new mandate, hotels can stay on target according to their development schedules, saving both developers and owners considerable resources,” added KB Kachru, chairman, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
