NEW DELHI : Hospitality stalwarts and professionals from across the world joined in on the virtual platform to celebrate the 6th International Hospitality Day on 24th April. Celebrations started in advance in various parts of the world. Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute celebrated International Hospitality Day a day in advance. Augustinian University Columbia, celebrated IHD by sharing their rich culinary heritage with IIHM. This showed how the spirit of hospitality is upheld in every part of the world. In view of the ongoing pandemic, IHC and IIHM celebrations had to be restricted to the online platform. However, there was no dearth of enthusiasm as everyone joined in from across the world to experience the celebration.
The International Hospitality Day celebration kickstarted with a global celebration where international members of the International Hospitality Council were present. Prof. David Foskett, MBE, Chairman, International Hospitality Council (IHC) opened the global celebration with an inspirational address to all those associated with the Hospitality industry. “The hospitality industry is vital to the world economy. Despite the troubles of the world, there is no lockdown on friendship and hospitality. It is a wonderful industry that will surely bounce back better once it opens up completely. It provides key skills and opportunities to young people. IIHM is an institution that leads in world initiatives like IT in the hospitality industry, creating opportunities and bringing people together. IIHM is a fantastic institution that has done so much to connect the World.” Adding a note of positivity and passion, Dr Suborno Bose, CEO and Convenor, International Hospitality Council and CEO and Chairman, IIHM, said, “Hospitality is very close to our heart. We live and die for hospitality On International Hospitality Day, the entire hospitality fraternity has come forward to stand next to each other and support each other. We dedicate this International Hospitality Day to all the brave hearts of this industry, who, despite difficult times have tried to put a smile on people’s faces.”
Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO, Indian Hotels Company, was Guest of Honour at the event. “It’s a wonderful way to celebrate International Hospitality Day bringing in 50 different countries from different time zones on a single platform which has been made possible by IHC and IIHM. Hospitality has shown resilience, patience and compassion through the past year,” said Chhatwal.
Padma Shri Chef Sanjeev Kapoor was also present and said, “Celebration is a feeling that comes from within and today the world has come together on International Hospitality Day to celebrate Hospitality. Congratulations to IIHM for instituting International Hospitality Council and establishing International Hospitality Day on 24th April. Hospitality industry has shown a lot of compassion in this pandemic period and has redefined its meaning. IHD has brought the world together to celebrate this compassion and hard work of individuals in this field.”
Eminent personalities related to the global and Indian hospitality industries attended the online celebrations on International Hospitality Day. Michelin star chef Chris Galvin, Chef Patron, Galvin Restaurants, Chef Karl Guggenmos, Dean of Culinary Development, Johnson and Wales University, USA, Chef Garth Stroebel and Chef Shaun Leonard from BHMS, Switzerland were among the attendees of at the virtual event. Anita Mendiratta, Global Advisor and Author, Tourism and Development, Special advisor to Secretary General, UNWTO, said in her address, “I congratulate IIHM, IHC and Dr Suborno Bose and everyone for keeping the spirit of hospitality alive. The Hospitality industry is invaluable to the world and there are essentially five pillars that will bring this industry back on its feet. First of all is our commitment to the industry that we love. Second is maintaining confidence that the industry will definitely come back after this brief setback. We all know that travelling is not just a physical journey but a mental journey as well and that is where hospitality plays a key role. Third is communication. There is a need to connect with people to make sure no one is alone. Fourth is compassion which so many people in this industry are showing through this pandemic, braving the virus to take care of people. The final one is connection. Connecting hospitality to other industries will help build the new future of this industry.”
The Global celebration was marked by the presentation of Lifetime Achievement Awards to several deserving persons from the Hospitality industry. The Lifetime Achievement Awards went to:
Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Limited
Patu Keswani, MD, Lemon Tree Hotels
Dr Rupinder Singh Sodhi, MD, Amul India
Paul P John, Chairman and MD, John Distilleries Pvt Ltd
Rajeev Samant, Founder and CEO of Sula Vineyards
AD Singh, Founder and MD, Olive Group of Restaurants
Deepak Ohri, CEO, Lebua Hotels and Resorts
Ranju Alex, Market Vice President, West India, Marriott International
Visheshwar Raj Singh, VP and GM, The Oberoi
Veer Vijay Singh, CEO and MD, Trance Hotels
Beside the Global celebrations, IHD was celebrated at every IIHM campus across India where deserving hoteliers in the region were presented with special awards for their achievements. IHC Entrepreneur of the Year were Kapil Chopra, Founder and CEO, The Post Card Hotel, Zorawar Kalra, Founder, Massive Restaurants and a few other stalwarts who graced the occasion to accept the awards.
The IHC Woman Achiever of the Year were given to Chef Manisha Bhasin, Corporate Chef, ITC Ltd, Hotel Division, Kanika Hasrat, Area Director, UP, Uttarakhand & MP Indian Hotel Company Ltd, Ms Sherry Padda, Executive Asst Manager, The Leela Palace, New Delhi, Ms Shraddha Sharma, CEO, Your Story Digital were the few awardees from the list for the IHC Women Achiever of The Year.
IHC Rising Star of The Year was given to Sachin Talwar, Executive Chef, Hyatt Regency, Lucknow, Shaiban Hasan, Executive Assistant Manager, West Goa, Ankit Nagori, Co-Founder, Cult and Eat Fit, Tarun Seth, Hyatt Regency, Chennai, Chef Vikas Singh, Executive Chef, Hyatt Regency Kolkata were few of the awardees for the Rising Star
IHC Hospitality with A Cause was Roseate Hotels and Resorts, Sachin Maheswary, GM, Grand Mercure, Bangalore, Sonam Kapse, Owner of Terrasinne (First restaurant run by Mute/deaf) were a few from the list awarded amongst a glitterati present on the virtual platform on the International Hospitality Day.
