FHRAI to hold 44th Annual Convention in Shanghai

Mumbai, Aug 22: Over 500 delegates from the hospitality and tourism industries are expected to attend the 44th Annual Convention 2008, being organised by the Federation of Hotel&Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), to be held in Shanghai from October 11-14.

''China was chosen to expose Indian hoteliers to the progress made by Shanghai as a tourist destination. It would also be a good opportunity for them to meet suppliers of perishables and materials and strike deals,'' FHRAI Executive Committee member (Western India) Sunit Kothari said, at the curtain raiser function here on Thursday, Aug 21.

With ''Responsible Tourism'' as theme, the ''first carbon neutral convention'' will focus on environmental impact, energy conservation and utilisation of alternative sources of energy in the hospitality industry.

Also included in the agenda are seminars on emerging role of serviced apartments, trends in franchise and management contracts for hotels and restaurants, innovative financing, challenges in manpower planning and contemporary trends in cuisine and beverages.

The convention will also open a gateway to promote tourism between the two countries with leading Chinese outbound travel companies invited to participate. India received only 90,000 Chinese tourists in 2007, while 4,62,000 Indians visited China.

On domestic front, Mr Kothari said occupancy in the large metros of Delhi and Mumbai were still experiencing a healthy occupancy rate of 60-70 per cent, although inbound tourism had dipped by 10-15 per cent due to hike in aviation fuel prices.

UNI