Welcoming Your Indian Guests: A Practical Guide for Hospitality and Tourism (Second Edition)

By Multicultural Marketing and Management

“Welcoming Your Indian Guests: A Practical Guide for Hospitality and Tourism” (Second Edition) is an easy-to-read introduction to the basics of Indian culture. It is designed for English-speaking audiences – including employers, friends, and hospitality industry professionals from small restaurants to large hotels. While global travel and tourism are still on hold due to the COVID situation, it is never too early to get yourself prepared for the re-activation of the industry by reading about how to welcome Indian guests.

* Learn how to greet Indians without offending them, whether they are male or female, Hindu or Muslim, or from North or South India.
* Serving beef hamburgers is illegal in India – learn how that affects Indian visitors to your restaurant.
* Identify differences between Indian English and the English spoken in your country.
* What is “Indian Standard Time”?

With a population of 1.3 billion, India is the world’s second largest population (18 per cent of the world). An estimated 40 million Indians travel internationally each year – and many will visit your country.

This book is written by Multicultural Marketing and Management (MMM). MMM is a multi-award-winning, full-service marketing agency, with over 20 years of experience in non-English communication in over 70 languages. MMM is an accredited tourism business in Australia.

Other books by MMM:
* Chopsticks Culture
* Welcoming Your Chinese Guests (on Amazon's international best seller lists)
* Millie Milk's Adventure

• Language: English
• Publisher: Multicultural Marketing and Management
• Release date: Dec 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005135898

Multicultural Marketing and Management

Welcoming Your Chinese Guests: A Practical Guide for Hospitality and Tourism is brought to you by Multicultural Marketing and Management (MMM) in Sydney, Australia. We are a multi-award-winning, full-service communication agency which specialises in non-English communication. Its range of services includes:* Multicultural marketing and communications;* Multilingual research;* Cross-cultural training.Since its inception in 1993, MMM has worked with a wide range of clients including blue-chip multi-national corporations and Federal, State and Local Government agencies. They include Kraft Foods, Nestle, Roche Products, Zurich Financial Services, Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Department of Agriculture, Department of Industry, Tourism Australia.I hope this practical guide will help you welcome your Chinese guests and improve the service and productivity of your business.Happy reading!Jessie and MMM TeamAustralia's Multicultural Expert

Book preview

Welcoming Your Indian Guests

A Practical Guide for Hospitality and Tourism

By

Multicultural Marketing and Management

on Smashwords

Copyright © 2020 by Multicultural Marketing and Management

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

To

Haroon Rashedu and Asma, for your friendship and perspective

Contributors

Jessie Wong

Jessie is the Managing Director of Multicultural Marketing and Management, a multi-award-winning cultural communication agency in Australia. She has conducted training workshops, managed multicultural marketing, research and communication projects, for Kraft Foods, Heinz, Roche Products, Tourism Australia, Nestle, Arts NSW, Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Department of Defence, Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Zurich Financial Services, and many others. She has a Master of Arts in Comparative Asian Studies from the University of Hong Kong and Certificate in French Language and Civilization, University of Sorbonne, Paris, France. She speaks French and Chinese.

June Lai

June Lai was born and raised in Hawaii, where she grew up surrounded by other cultures and languages even in her own family. She studied economics and journalism at the University of Hawaii and Pepperdine University in California, taught English to foreign students, was a staff member for an American Congressman, and was a staff writer for a U.S. business publication. She has written for many companies including banks, high-tech startups, and venture capital firms. She lives in Silicon Valley with many Indian neighbors. Her favorite Indian foods are lamb saag, channa masala (curried garbanzos), and paratha bread.

Varun Sud

Varun came to Melbourne, Australia in 2004 to pursue his Master’s Degree in Information Technology and has called it home since then. He is a full- time IT professional. His keen interest in his languages led him to acquire NAATI professional-level accreditation in Hindi and Punjabi. He has translated communication materials for NSW Transport, Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Department of Education and other clients. He has been actively involved in Multicultural and Indian Associations in Central Queensland. Lots of his current time is spent watching his one-year-old son grow day-by-day and following his step-by- step learning.

Illustration and cover design by Traci W. Published 2014. Revised 2020.

WELCOMING YOUR INDIAN GUESTS © by Multicultural Marketing and Management

Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form is forbidden without the written permission of Multicultural Marketing and Management, PO BOX 1091, Eastwood NSW 2122, Australia, info (at) multiculture.com.au www.multiculture.com.au

Table of Contents

DEDICATION INTRODUCTION

SECTION A – INDIAN TOURISTS 101

Module 1: How to Greet Indians

Module 2: Hotel Signage and a Prayer Room Module 3: Greeting Your Indian Guests Module 4: Understanding Your Indian Guests SECTION B – FOOD AND BEVERAGE

Module 5: Beverage for Indian Guests Module 6: Food for Your Indian Guests

Module 7: Food Choices for Your Indian Guests Module 8: Food Choices for Indian Muslims

Module 9: Restaurant Service for Your Indian Guests Module 10: Restaurant Seating For Your Indian Guests SECTION C – SIGHTS AND HOTELS

Module 11: Recommending Activities for Your Indians Guests

SECTION D – UNIQUE TO INDIA AND INDIANS

Module 12: Understanding Indian Castes and Class Issues Module 13: Interfacing with Indian Tour Operators COURSE SUMMARY

ANSWER KEY

APPENDICES

Suggested References Endnotes

ABOUT MMM

Any names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination and are fictional. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome

Welcoming Your Indian Guests: A Practical Guide for Hospitality and Tourism is for hospitality industry professionals – from small restaurants to theme parks and large hotels – who want to be better equipped to serve Indian guests. This book can also help anyone who needs an introduction to the basics of Indian culture, such as employers and friends.

With this book, you will learn fundamentals of communicating with and providing services for Indian visitors. You will also learn about the basics of understanding Indian style in food and entertainment, as well as etiquette when doing business with Indians.

Currently, the world’s population is 7.8 billion people, of which approximately 1.3 billion (18 per cent) are from India, making it the world’s second largest population after China (1.4 billion, or 18 per cent). An estimated 40 million Indians travel internationally each year. As the Indian outbound tourism market continues to increase worldwide, your sales and marketing strategy should seek out the Indian market.

India is a very diverse country not only in terms of language and culture but also in terms of social structures, lifestyle, literacy levels, and awareness of modernity and its affordability.

Indian tourists want to be treated the same as everyone else. In your facility, they are looking for cleanliness and safety, with limited exposure to smoking or alcohol. They are very willing to spend money, but they are interested in getting bargains and the best prices, and they expect good service.

As a hospitality industry professional, you need to be prepared to meet the needs of these visitors so that they will have a positive impression of your country and will come again.

Course Overview

This book is divided into thirteen small modules that can be read in just minutes. Each module contains learning objectives, scenarios that show appropriate and inappropriate actions, discussion questions as food for thought, and tips and suggestions. The module ends with a short quiz that aims to test your knowledge on the material.

The first modules will be of interest to everyone. The last few modules may apply mostly to certain hospitality sectors, such as restaurants and hotels, although the information will still be interesting.

! NOTE: Most of our suggestions do not require huge expenditures. Learning to greet an Indian visitor takes only a minute; organizing your food service area requires you to move a few things and make some new signs. You and your staff can adapt your premises and your manner to welcome Indian guests without changing your personal preferences to do so.

SECTION A – INDIAN TOURISTS 101

MODULE 1: How to greet Indians

Learning Objectives for Module 1

√ How to address Indians: sir or madam

√ Learning when to shake hands

√ Your right hand is the right hand

Scenarios for Module 1

Topic A: First Impressions

The Gold Card Inn has 80 non-smoking rooms and is near the Portland, Oregon airport. It is near to public transit, making it easy to access shopping, museums, and other downtown attractions, yet the inn has only a three-star rating; it is considered a best bargain facility. Hotel Manager William Wells is trying to attract more foreign visitor groups and is giving all his attention to their first party of Indian guests from a new tour group.

William is a tall, large man who played football in university and likes to pat people on the back. The male Front Desk Agent is a young man who wears large pierced earrings in both ears and a small eyelid piercing; his tattoos are visible even though he wears a long-sleeved shirt. The female Concierge has a bubbly personality and greets everyone by first name as if they are old friends, patting people on the arm or shoulder; she wears a tight knee-length pencil skirt and sleeveless blouse.

The tour group’s bus arrives from the airport. The Indian visitors step out at the curb and immediately start taking photos of hotel’s landscaping, with the mothers showing their children where squirrels are playing; this blocks the hotel’s driveway and will make it difficult for other incoming guests to get out of their taxis and unload their baggage at the curb. William stands near the Indians, puts his hands on his hips, and gave them a mock glare. Ladies! he booms in a deep voice, and whistles at them to get their attention. He points a finger at them and then points in the direction of the hotel lobby, signaling them to come along, but he winks and smiles at them to let them know he is just teasing.

The Front Desk Agent and Concierge help William round up the guests to enter the hotel lobby. They use their left or right hand to lightly tap guests on the shoulder to get their attention if necessary.

Topic B: Hand-shaking, Touching, and Greeting

To greet the party on arrival, Sylvia arranged for a reception with Indian chai tea and snacks. At the door, she forms a receiving line with herself and the hotel’s senior managers; they each shake hands with every guest, male and female.

Guests are lined up in no particular order.

When the greeting line stops due to some women guests who are busy talking with each other about their children and grandchildren, Sylvia leads an older woman by the elbow and gently guides her forward. Come, ladies, we’ve made all this wonderful food just for you, she says.

At the end of the welcoming event, Sylvia – on behalf of her staff – thanks all the guests as a group for coming, and she extends her best wishes for a pleasant trip. She and her staff then mingle among all the guests. As guests leave the room, Sylvia and her staff wave goodbye, using a side-to-side hand wave or an up-and-down hand wave.

Discussion for Module 1

It