CGH Earth, one of the largest players in Southern India who own experiential resorts, is looking to expand into the North-West and North-East regions of India. The group currently has a portfolio of 17 hotels spread across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The group is looking to partner with local entrepreneurs for the upcoming projects.
Speaking about the developmental plans Jose Dominic, CEO, CGH Earth Group said, “We are keen to look at across the Vindhya region. At the moment, we are present in the south, but not to depart and inch from our target path. We believe circuits will grow well, so North West is one thought. I believe North West circuit of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat makes a formidable circuit. We will approach in a new way and we will partner with local entrepreneurs. We will especially look at local rural tribal communities. Similarly, we will also look at North East, Sikkim and the seven sisters. Moreover, we will relook at even Kerala to grow or partner with local communities and tribes. India’s cultural diversity is the biggest asset and this is best preserved in the far away India and remote India. We will like to engage in those areas.”
Earlier, the Group successfully managed a property in Lakshadweep, which was later shut down. Now, Lakshadweep has once again opened the destination for investment. Speaking about plans to re-enter the island, Dominic said, “There have been talks about investing in Lakshadweep. It is an extraordinary group of islands. If opportunity arrives we will surely look at it. We are also looking at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We had a project in Andaman but could not proceed due to the terms that were set. But there is great opportunity there too. Most of the islands in Andaman are reserve forests. The model which was followed in Maldives that one island one resort cannot happen in India.”
The Group offers unique experiences to travellers. The core value of the group is sustainability and involvement of the local community. Dominic believes that the meaning of luxury has evolved over the period of time and people now look at experiences.
He further said, “We are now present in peninsular India, like Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu. Our core business is experiential holidays with core values like environment, community and we also believe that each experience we offer must have a unique compelling evocation. We don’t want to replicate ourselves, but reinvent ourselves every time. CGH Earth emphasises on ecology, conservation and being local everywhere. We believe in this space that we are there has extraordinary potential to grow. The future of tourism is going that way. The construct of our customers is the elite independent travellers, who are seeking a sense of wonder or adventure and a very conscious traveller whose travel benefits the community. We believe that consumer is not the king, but a focus of our attention.”
In recent years, a lot of new economic policies have been introduced in Kerala which has not gone well with the tourism industry. Firstly the introduction of the new liquor policy which has now been revoked.
Speaking about the impact of economic policies in Kerala, Dominic said, “Rarely does lightning strike a place more than once, but here was the case in the last government, the first lightning was in the form of new excise policy where only five star could serve liquor up to 10 pm. It hit us very hard, tourism was impacted. This policy completely demolished the MICE business in Kerala. The next strike came in with the Supreme Courts 500 mtr order. The third came in the form of highest in the world GST on tourism. The impact of the first strike has been rolled back and further liberalisation will happen, second has also been rolled back. 28 per cent GST puts us in a very competitive disadvantage. The rest of South East Asia has 7-12 per cent. This is only a question of time and will also be rolled back. Need of the hour is to make India more competitive.”
