Traditional Concepts and emerging Trends in Hospitality Services

Abstract

The genesis for the paper is the declaration in the Upanishads “Atithi Devo Bhava” meaning, the visitor is God, which has encouraged me to investigate into traditional scriptures. It is found that words and vocabulary related to hospitality are found in extensive quotations in the Vedas and Upanishads. These scriptures defined visitor, guest, tourist and traveller which match international terminology including that of the WTO. They have also stated that the visitor (Atithi) is God and the guest (Abhyagati) is Vishnu himself. This is stressed on by prescribing an extensive variety of services under the heading Shodasopacharas. These services encompass the whole process from welcoming to seeing off the visitor with a caution of ill-effects of non-compliance in attending to these services. Emerging trends in hospitality codified some of the traditional services and stated that the guest has to be served with zero defects since the guest experience cannot be undone. Tradition, which involves psychology and technology for growing the culture of the service, is also studied for the promotion and integration of hospitality concepts. Demography dimension and change in lifestyles as a result of globalization polarised the hospitality industry towards greater safety and security with a difference bearing on traditional approaches. Key words: Vedas, Upanishads, Shodasopacharas, Psychological Motives, Globalization.

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