'Hotels should aim leisure tourism'
indiatimes.com
NEW DELHI: With most hoteliers eyeing the lucrative business tourists, an industry body has said the single-minded focus will lead to total neglect of the booming leisure tourism segment which is growing at a rate of over 20 per cent annually.
"The problem is that everyone is focussing too much on business tourists, the big players in the hotel sector are giving limited attention towards leisure tourists in the country," All India Resort Development Association (AIRDA) chairman and principal advisor B S Rathore said.
He said hoteliers in India are setting up properties in metros and other Tier I cities, which see a huge inflow of business travellers, while there are minimal facilities coming up in smaller cities which are also emerging as the new hubs of tourism in the country.
Domestic leisure tourism is expected to grow at an annual rate of 20 per cent for the next 4-5 years, Rathore added.
However, French hospitality chain Accor, which recently announced its JV with Emaar MGF to set up 100 business hotels at an investment of 300 million dollars, had a different view.
Accor Hotels Head of Development (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka) Uttam Dave said leisure tourism at current levels in India made no business sense for a company to set up properties in Tier II towns.
"Leisure occupancy in India is just 2-5 per cent whereas internationally it is 45 per cent. The moment you go to tier II towns, your economy is under question," he said.
