Luxury Travel Resilient, Say Hotel Execs

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Top hotel executives on Friday expressed confidence in the ability of the luxury travel segment to stage a quick recovery amid the West Asia conflict, saying it has been resilient during past disruptions as well.

Anuraag Bhatnagar, CEO, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, said the geopolitical conditions have impacted its portfolio on account of cancellations and postponements.

"Obviously, the geopolitical conditions have impacted our portfolio. We have seen a series of cancellations across all our growth. The exact number in terms of what has been the mix as the situation is still evolving," he said.

However, he expressed optimism regarding the luxury travel sector's resilience.


"We have lived through 9/11, 26/11, we've been through that. We see that the recovery, especially on the luxury side, is pretty quick, and luxury as a segment has always been far more resilient," Bhatnagar said.

Christopher Hartley, CEO, Global Hotel Alliance, said, "You will see a very quick recovery, especially in markets like the UAE, that are specialists at recovery. They've been through this before, and they're brilliant at creating reasons to reassure people that the country's ready to do business again".

He said consumers today also have a tendency to move on very quickly.

"Let's hope we can get through this quickly. And six months from now, I would predict, if it does end relatively quickly, that towards the end of this year you'll see a very rapid recovery," he said.