India’s hospitality industry is all set to roll with big players entering the budget hotel segment. Due to a huge demand- supply gap, this segment holds enormous business potential. India is one of the world’s most dynamic economies today. So with the rapidly growing trade the number of inbound, outbound & domestic tourist has also increased. India is on track to capture 01% of the global trade in the near future. So, with a growing number of wealthy Indians as well as an expanding middle class, the number of Indians traveling within the country has nearly doubled in the past decades to about 450 million. It means that there is a huge domestic tourist market in India itself, including business & leisure travelers.

An estimated 300 millions tourist trips annually are there, on average, which may also include those traveling for social & religious purpose. The industry expects a boom in tourism in the domestic sector in India, and a growth of 10% to 15% over the next few years. A growth in tourism will certainly mean a boom in hotel and restaurants and in turn focus on its service sector and the human resource manning those services.

And in an effort to encourage foreign investment in the real estate sector for hospitality industry, the Indian government has changed its restrictive laws in February 2005, to allow 100% foreign direct investment to develop new housing, commercial properties, hotels & hospitals. The international tourist arrival in Delhi for the year 2010 is forecasted at 18 lakhs and of domestic tourist being 35.8 lakhs in the same year.  

Career in Hospitality Industry
Promising career options are plenty for those who are smart, intelligent, amiable, and highly communicative and those who like going places and meeting people.

In the world where holiday options are endless, what matters is service. It is this distinctive feature of hospitality service that eventually attracts or distracts tourists. Although the leading players of the hospitality industry have entered the scene, there is still a heavy shortfall of skilled man power to meet the rising demands. There are a lot of openings waiting for those with professional training
The Hospitality industry is very wide and consists of areas such as:

· Hotels
· Restaurants
· Retailing
· Transportation
· Travel Agencies
· Tourism Companies
· Tourist Attractions
· Leisure, Recreation and Sport
· Cultural Industries

Role of Hotel Management Courses in Hospitality Sector

Introduction to Hotel Management
India has great caliber for growth and development in the tourism sector. The growth of the hotel management is linked closely to this sector. Manpower requirement for hotels is on the rise. Star hotels require specialized trained staff for their various departments like Food & Beverage, Food Production, Housekeeping and Front office, Public relation, Account section and other services. These jobs have become increasingly challenging & sophisticated in recent times. The employment opportunity in hotels varies within the industry and is largely dependent on the size of the hotel.

Nature of work
In all hotels, hotel managers and assistant manager works to ensure that guests’ visits are pleasant comfortable. Five star hotels may employ hundreds of workers.  Under the manager there may be many assistant managers working in different   departments responsible for various aspects of operations. In hotel industry the work goes on continuously, 24 hours a day and so the employees work on shift system. Communicating with the various kinds of people would make the work quite interesting but housekeepers and their assistant staff performs physically strenuous duties.
The job demands a consistent personal appeal and working for difficult customers is quiet a challenging task. This dynamic sector offers jobs for young men and women with a pleasant personality and a flair for creativity. It seems to be glamorous but at the same time it is tough. A gregarious, extrovert person can find this job pleasurable.

Role of Travel and Tourism Courses in Hospitality Sector
In India, Travel and tourism, as an industry, has been somewhat slower to take off than in many other places. However, with increasing worldwide interest in travel, and with the Government’s encouragement of its activities, it is undergoing massive expansion and improvement. This forecasts a bright future for all those who choose to make a career of travel and tourism. Young people with drive and a capacity for hard work can rise to top positions very quickly in travel and tourism or even head their own agencies. A job in the industry gives good returns as well as perks including opportunity to see many locales at low prices.
 
Rules and regulations
Travel company personnel must be up-to-date on current rules and regulations and documentation required, in areas like cargo, ticketing and passports, visas etc. so as to correctly advise their clients, and to take care of the paperwork when necessary. Besides this, all tourism staff in marketing, counter sales, or guide services, should be knowledgeable about the places their clients visit, in terms of general background, how to get there connections by air, rail and road and the facilities available.

With the ever rising flow of international and domestic tourists, employment opportunity are endless, one has to analyze, what course and degree is most appropriate according to Personal Attributes and sky is the limit.