Our recent issue highlighted the growth story of India’s Tier II and Tier III cities in the hospitality space. My recent visits to Sikkim in the northeast, Aurangabad in the west and Raipur in central India further reiterated the fact that these pockets of development are totally ready to offer investors a work environment that is ROI friendly. Though Sikkim has its rules vis-a-vis investments, the state is ready to extend its support to those interested to partner with the government on a PPP format for further hospitality development. The CM Pawan Chamling personally shared his keen interest to invite serious players in the space to consider the state to further their brand footprint. Further, in Sikkim, there are small and medium properties in operation who are also actively looking at partnering with brands to manage their setup. Click to Raipur and the picture is that of a region that is raring to go. The Naya Raipur new state-of-the-art region, is declared as a future smart city and investors are already queuing up to grab the first mover advantage.

Apart from the place, the people in emerging towns and cities are also ready to join in the new age development bandwagon. They are ready to experiment with their palates, explore cuisines which till sometime ago were either alien or not accepted. Dining out is fashionable and this signal is smartly identified by investors in the restaurant space. Apart from leading metros, setting up thematic restaurants is not considered as risky any more. Our cover story this issue takes you on an insightful journey of what the gameplan is with respect to these thematic setups.

Further, the restaurant space is also witnessing an interesting online interface. Standing in a queue outside a restaurant to enjoy its gourmet experience may not be required anymore. The recent trend of online table reservations is catching up steadily. Established restaurants across the country are signing up for this new system to give unique dining experiences to their clients and improve their business revenue. With users increasingly becoming tech-savvy and preferring to book ahead of time at their favourite restaurants, the online table reservation system is definitely here to stay and evolve. Finally it’s all about evolution and those who get it quick are the ones who are here to stay.

Reema Lokesh
Editor

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