New Delhi’s hospitality sector gets ready to host world leaders at G20 summit
While hosting these leaders will be a challenge for the city’s hotels and restaurants, it also offers them an opportunity to shine.
The hospitality sector in India’s capital New Delhi is gearing up for a pivotal moment in history, as the country hosts various heads of state for the G20 summit this weekend.
NEW DELHI: The hospitality sector in India’s capital New Delhi is gearing up for a pivotal moment in history, as the country hosts various heads of state for the G20 summit this weekend.
They will be accompanied by hundreds of delegates, along with the leaders of global institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank.
While hosting these dignitaries will be a challenge for the city’s hotels and restaurants, it also offers them an opportunity to shine.
INTRODUCING NEW DISHES ON THE MENU FOR DELEGATES
Chefs at New Delhi’s Hyatt Regency hotels, for instance, are including new items on their menu ahead of the summit.
The dishes prepared are what the head chef calls “comfort food that is made with love”.
The pressure is on as “everything has to be perfect and we cannot fail”, said Hyatt Regency Delhi’s executive chef Alessandro Sandrolini, adding that a lot of attention is given to the details.
In a culinary twist, chefs will be treating delegates attending the summit to an array of fusion cuisines, many of them millet-based.
Millets are cereal grains with a high nutritional value. India, which is presiding over the bloc this year, has recently made a huge push to promote and export the hardy, drought-resistant grain - once a local staple - by calling it the food of the future.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was served millet at a White House state dinner in June and has encouraged more people around the world to eat it.
The G20 summit preparations extend beyond making international guests comfortable.
It is also about promoting all things Indian, such as India’s rich flavours.
Chef Arun Sundaraj of The Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi said this includes giving delegates a taste of India through serving them thali, which has different dishes served in small portions on a large platter.
“So everyone as a delegate coming into India gets to taste and flavour elements from various parts of India,” he added.
LEAVING A LASTING IMPRESSION ON WORLD LEADERS
These kitchens will work non-stop during the two-day summit, with hotels already fully booked.
Security preparations are being made to provide ample cover for the guests during their stay.
Mr Satyajeet Krishnan, general manager of The Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi, said: “Literally every inch of the hotel is covered by surveillance, by our own camera systems in conjunction with the Delhi police.
“We will have their people also involved. The security agencies are also involved in providing a security blanket.”
Hotels told CNA that this is a chance to leave a lasting impression on world leaders for themselves and for the country.
While hotels are putting their best foot forward to cater to the G20 delegates, there has also been a sharp hike in tariff rates.
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Some hotels have doubled their prices while others have quadrupled them, according to some reports.
For the delegates, this could be a mild inconvenience. But for the hotels, it is an opportunity to take their profits back to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Some hotels are already registering profits close to 2019 levels, before India’s nationwide lockdown was imposed for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the credit goes to the many G20 meetings conducted across the nation in the past year under India’s G20 presidency.
“Revenue from this front has been significant, not only for Hyatt but the industry in general,” said Mr Shrikant Wakharkar, area vice president of Hyatt Hotels in North India.
“Things look much better than last year in 2023. And I would say 8 to 10 per cent growth in both profits and revenue this year.”
The growth comes at a time when hotels are investing to upgrade themselves to ensure a memorable experience for international guests.
BUILDING STRONGER TIES AT THE MEETING
World leaders who will be attending the gathering of the world's biggest economies include United States President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, will snub the meeting. Instead, Premier Li Qiang will lead China's delegation.
Observers said Mr Xi's G20 no-show hints at the country’s shifting diplomatic priorities. Some noted that tensions with host India may also have led to his unexplained decision to not attend the summit.
“Today, because of India's own troubles with China, its own tensions with China, it's not really walking a middle path between the US and China,” said foreign policy observer Tanvi Madan, senior fellow in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.
“It is aligned in many ways, including shared concerns about some Chinese behaviours in the region, with the US.”
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Meanwhile, the US would likely use this chance to consolidate the progress it has made with India, and also push forward the momentum in defence and technology ties and discussions about the regional security environment, she told CNA938 on Thursday (Sep 7).
“One other thing that I think (President Biden) will seek to do is contrast the US support for India's chairing of the G20, with what is being seen in India as a Chinese snub with Xi Jinping not attending the summit,” added Dr Madan, whose research work focuses on India’s relations with China and the US.
“So I think you'll see President Biden contrast that in subtle ways, both in the bilateral sense but also at the broader G20 meeting.”
