Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 20 : The 56th Annual Conference of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), the apex body of India's hospitality industry, will be held at the Taj Ganges in Varanasi from August 21 to 23, with "Eternal Kashi: Leading the Future of Tourism through Spirituality, Culture, Cuisine, and Craft" as its theme.
The three-day conference is being organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, with Uttar Pradesh Tourism as the partner state. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to attend the conference as the chief guest.
Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Uttar Pradesh ministers Jaiveer Singh and Ravindra Jaiswal, and Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte are also expected to attend.
Ambassadors from Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Laos will participate in the conference, while top executives from global hospitality companies, including Indian Hotels Company, ITC Hotels, Radisson, Hilton, IHG, Wyndham, and Lemon Tree, are also scheduled to attend.
FHRAI President Surendra Kumar Jaiswal said the core theme, "Ananta Kashi", refers to the eternal nature of Varanasi and seeks to bring together the city's spirituality, culture, cuisine and craft as a proposition for global tourism.
"What does Kashi possess? Kashi possesses spirituality. What else does Kashi have? It has culture. The number of luminaries and legendary figures that have emerged from here is perhaps unmatched by any other place in India. What else does Kashi have? It has its cuisine, which has become renowned not just across India but worldwide. And it has craft--its silk is famous and exported globally," Jaiswal said.
He said the conference aims to bring these four elements together and project India's tourism potential globally.
"By bridging heritage and innovation, this conference will serve as a pivotal platform for the future of India's tourism and hospitality sectors," Jaiswal said.
The FHRAI Bharat Gaurav Awards will be presented during the inaugural ceremony on August 21. Presentations based on Varanasi's cultural heritage and the inauguration of an exhibition will also be held.
Business sessions during the conference will focus on spiritual and wellness tourism, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), wedding tourism, sustainable hospitality, Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation, promotion of local products through ODOP and ODOC initiatives, and Ease of Doing Business.
"It is a three-day programme. The first day is the inaugural ceremony, starting tomorrow evening at 5:30 PM. Following that, on the second and third days, business sessions will be held where we will deliberate on wellness, tourism growth, and all related matters--and explore how to place spirituality, culture, cuisine, and craftsmanship firmly on the global map," Jaiswal said.
Special events for delegates will include visits to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Swarved Mahamandir, the Ganga Aarti at Namo Ghat and the 'Subah-e-Banaras' experience.
During the closing session, hospitality students and outstanding industry professionals will be honoured with the FHRAI Excellence Awards.
FHRAI represents over 100,000 hotels and 500,000 restaurants across the country and works with central and state governments on policies and the overall development of the hospitality industry.