- What marks the success of McDonald’s in India :-

    McDonald’s,- the winning saga of fast food chain began in 1940 with a restaurant owned by two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernado, California. Today, it continues to inspire awe and admiration from all food lovers across the globe. The enormity of McDonald’s is hardly fathomable. Operating in 119 countries with over 31,000 restaurants, this world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants daily serves nearly 47 million customers.

- The upward growth curve of Tourism industry :-

    2008 has been a tumultuous year for the Indian tourism industry. The global slowdown marred the growth of the industry especially in the second half of the year even as the terrorist attacks battered the industry further. The scenario has been dismal for the last six months. According to the officials, India had witnessed a 10% drop in the flow of foreign travellers from November 2008.However, the signs of upturn have started showing thanks to the emerging markets which even industry insiders vouch for.

- Room service strategies gaining prominence :-
    Room service is one of the most important aspects of the guest’s overall experience at the hotel. It is the service offered by the hotel staff for food and other items on the request of guests. This service varies from hotel to hotel. In 5-star hotels, 24 hours room service is provided while in 2 and 3 star hotels, service is limited to ‘in room’ tea and coffee making facilities with continental breakfast.

- The impact of slowdown on the Hospitality industry :-
    The Indian hospitality industry has been witnessing difficult times and a slow growth in the recent past. The global economic slowdown has impacted both business travel as well as tourist arrivals. The industry has also been badly hit by Mumbai terrorist attacks. In fact, the negative impact of terrorism has worsened the situation. As per the industry estimates, in July2008, foreign tourist arrivals grew by a 13.8%, but in October ‘08, the growth rate fell down to 2.8%.

- Hotels going organic :-
    The food trend that has been sweeping the India culinary scene in the recent times is the ‘organic food’. The trend is catching up fast owing to its various advantages. Previously, only showcased at a select few restaurants, now it is spreading to stylish and posh restaurants too. The widespread belief is that going organic means restoring the natural balance of microbes and animals.

- Hotels going for online promotion :-
    Due to the burgeoning online bookings, hotels are in the dire need of creating a definite online presence. Online presence could invariably mean increasing profits and creating a positive image of the brand. In fact, the growth penchant of online sales can be linked to the immense reach of the internet. Online bookings are indeed, picking up momentum due to their instantaneousness. Of late, it has been established as the best means of marketing and distribution in the hospitality industry.

- Ecotels or Ecofriendly hotels :-
    An Eco-friendly Hotel or Ecotel encapsulates the whole ideat of environmental protection through energy conservation and sustainable development. Ecotels, also called Green Hotels have become a global phenomenon. Hotels around the world are making a huge effort to conserve natural resources by lowering their consumption of energy and water as well as implementing responsible waste management methods.
    An eco-friendly hotel should meet certain criteria such as ecological sustainability, proven contribution to conservation, provision of environmental training programmes, incorporation of cultural considerations and provision of an economic return to the local community. In India, some of the Ecotels are The Orchid, Mumbai, Roadas, Mumbai, Ceebros Raintree, Chennai, Hotel Gautam, Mahabaleshwar, Hotel Laguna, Lonavla and The White Orchid, Jammu.

- Wildlife sanctuaries of India :-

The amazing diversity of flora and fauna of varied habitats are showcased in wild life sanctuaries and national parks spread across India. India has more than 300 wildlife sanctuaries and 80 national parks that house an astounding number of rare species of birds, animals and insects. The wildlife sanctuaries protect and nurture them in their natural habitats.

- A few famous wildlife sanctuaries of India are :-

- Visit India 2009 :-
    The Union Ministry of Tourism and the World Travel & Tourism Council (India), have launched a new scheme ‘Visit India 2009′ to offer different incentives to International tourists and tourism industry. Value added services will be offered to tourists visiting the country during the period between April 2009 -December 2009.

- Different Schemes of Visit India 2009 :-:-
    Visit India 2009 Scheme offers attractive incentives to foreign tourists between the April 2009 and December 2009. The attractive schemes are offered by the Airline companies, HAI and Tour operators. All three major airlines of India-Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher have joined this campaign.

- Traditional folk paintings of India :-
    The diversity in the patterns and styles of different art forms of India can only be compared to the diversity of the nation. Traditional artists even to this day employ these ancient art forms for entertainment and education as almost every art form entails pictorial representation of the historical events. Every state of India has an ancient tradition of using illustrated paintings for narrating mythological events.