New Delhi: Travel demand remains resilient despite geopolitical uncertainties, with travellers rerouting rather than cancelling plans, senior executives at global hospitality major Hyatt told ET. The rerouted travel flow is benefitting other Asia Pacific markets, they said.
"People haven't stopped travelling - they are just rearranging and postponing plans," said David Udell, group president, Asia Pacific, at Hyatt. For example, destinations like Kyoto and Kobe in Japan are witnessing a surge in Indian tourists, he said.
The operator of hotel brands such as Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency also continues to see strong, sustained confidence in the India market. The chain has close to 100 hotels in its pipeline in the country. It currently has 55 hotels in India and Southwest Asia across nine brands, with over 10,500 keys.
The new projects are not slowing down amid the current global uncertainties, executives said.
"Developers are building for the next five to ten years," said Stephen Ho, president, Greater China and growth, Asia Pacific, at Hyatt.
These include large-scale projects with as many as 600 rooms - significantly larger than the traditional 200-250 room hotels being considered in India. In Asia Pacific (including Greater China), the chain has 370 hotels across 17 brands, spanning 90,000 keys as of 2025.
This month, Hyatt appointed Vikas Chawla to the newly created senior role of president, India and Southwest Asia.
A key structural shift supporting the hospitality sector in India has been the rise of domestic tourism following the Covid-19 pandemic, Udell said.
"One of the silver linings of Covid was that Indians discovered the depth of domestic travel. There is a treasure trove of destinations within the country," he said, adding that this trend is now a significant and durable contributor to hospitality growth. Despite intensifying competition from global and domestic chains, he said Hyatt remains focused on quality over scale.
"Growth is important for us, and we have the largest number of members in terms of the number of hotel rooms that we have operating," Udell said.
"People haven't stopped travelling - they are just rearranging and postponing plans," said David Udell, group president, Asia Pacific, at Hyatt. For example, destinations like Kyoto and Kobe in Japan are witnessing a surge in Indian tourists, he said.
The operator of hotel brands such as Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency also continues to see strong, sustained confidence in the India market. The chain has close to 100 hotels in its pipeline in the country. It currently has 55 hotels in India and Southwest Asia across nine brands, with over 10,500 keys.
The new projects are not slowing down amid the current global uncertainties, executives said.
"Developers are building for the next five to ten years," said Stephen Ho, president, Greater China and growth, Asia Pacific, at Hyatt.
These include large-scale projects with as many as 600 rooms - significantly larger than the traditional 200-250 room hotels being considered in India. In Asia Pacific (including Greater China), the chain has 370 hotels across 17 brands, spanning 90,000 keys as of 2025.
This month, Hyatt appointed Vikas Chawla to the newly created senior role of president, India and Southwest Asia.
A key structural shift supporting the hospitality sector in India has been the rise of domestic tourism following the Covid-19 pandemic, Udell said.
"One of the silver linings of Covid was that Indians discovered the depth of domestic travel. There is a treasure trove of destinations within the country," he said, adding that this trend is now a significant and durable contributor to hospitality growth. Despite intensifying competition from global and domestic chains, he said Hyatt remains focused on quality over scale.
"Growth is important for us, and we have the largest number of members in terms of the number of hotel rooms that we have operating," Udell said.
