By Kuhelika Roy Choudhury
To celebrate 125 years of operation, Kempinski Hotels organized the Kempinski Hotels India Roadshow, 2022 in Mumbai. The objective of the roadshow was to inform the Mumbai’s travel fraternity about the preparedness of the chain to draw Indian guests. Present on the occasion were Amanda Elder, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) as well as the member of Kempinski Hotels Management Board and Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director – Nijhawan Group. Nijhwan Group is the India representative of Kempinski Hotels in India.
Talking about the positioning of Kempinski Hotels in India, Elder said, “We are glad to celebrate the 125 years anniversary in India of authentic European hospitality with such amazing energy. Since Feb 2020, we were with a notion when we could come back to India, and we must say that Kempinski Hotels is amongst the primary hoteliers to have bounced back so well and are here to appreciate the contribution of India in trusting and coming together with Kempinski”
Divulging more information on the India market, Elder informed that India holds the 8th position as source market. “We are already at 50% of what we were getting before pandemic in 2019 but the travel restrictions in several destinations are still slowing down the process of recovery. But we are moving ahead and are truly hoping to meet the pre-pandemic levels by early 2023,” the CCO said adding that the hotel chain is also mostly focused on tapping the potential of Indian wedding & honeymoon and MICE segments. “We have got the right properties and experience to meet these three target groups,” she added.
Replying to a question over which international properties get the maximum traction from India, she said: “Our top destinations loved by Indian customers include Dubai, Seychelles, Bali, and Munich. And we really hope that the Indian customers discover the new Kempinski Palace, Engelberg in Switzerland. Also, the buzz created and the response for Kempinski Hotels in Doha for the upcoming FIFA World Cup is amazing. Kempinski Hotel and Residences Palm Jumeirah, Dubai is very popular among Indian travelers,” she said.
She further said that the partnership with Nijhawan Group and the amazing sales force representing in India will definitely help us to let people know about Kempinski hotels. “We also look forward to introducing new property in India soon in the future,” she informed.
Talking about marketing strategies, she said that Kempinski Hotels is launching its new website on the occasion of 125 years anniversary. “We are going to tailor information to all market segments. The website would have a better look and feel experience with better content, information, and booking engine. We are trying to join hands with other booking platforms to encourage more networking and diverse modes of obtaining business,” she concluded.