Fine dining in Mumbai is expected to witness a 20-35 per cent drop in clientele as Mumbai's terrorist attacks have scarred the psyche of the elite.
Bookings in five-star hotels and inflow of foreign tourists into the country were already running low due to the global economic meltdown. With Wednesday's terror attack, the hotel industry is expected to see a rise in the number of cancellations and also a substantial reduction in tourist numbers since the terrorists have struck at the peak of the tourist season.
Rajesh Radhakrishnan, executive chef at The Park, Chennai, says, "It will take two to six months for people to get over the emotional trauma and return to the restaurants."
The food and beverages (F&B) sector in country's premium hotels generates upwards of 50 per cent of their revenues. A senior executive from the Europe-based hospitality giant Accor group, which will start operations of Novotel in Mumbai said, "We will generate about half of the entire revenue of the hotel from the F&B segment, where we have lined up a variety of restaurants." Novotel is scheduled to open by March next year.
For instance, the Taj and the Oberoi Trident are home to some of the best restaurants in the city. Just recently, three of Taj and two of Oberoi-Tridents restaurants won the Good Food Guide for 2008-09 awards.