The WTO has predicted that India will receive close to 25 million tourists by year 2017. India holds a special place in the international world of hospitality and gets a lot of domestic and international visitors every year. With the growth in travel and tourism industry in the recent times, there is ample scope for various tiers of hospitality chains to grow and prosper. The western region in India has always remained a frontrunner for hospitality business in the country. With the changing trends and pattern, hotels in western India region are upbeat about the growth story in 2016.
Speaking about the hospitality scenario, Rohan Sable, General Manager, Novotel Goa Resorts & Spa and Novotel Goa Shrem Hotel said, “Goa is a premium holiday destination in India, and attracts around 2.5 million travellers annually, including both domestic and foreign tourists. This region is well connected to the national capital and the financial capital. The changes from the state governments in this region will further propel industrial, tourism and hospitality industry.”
Stating similar opinion Sameer Sud, General Manager, The Leela Mumbai added, “The Indian hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key industries driving growth of the services sector in India. Not only has it recorded healthy growth fuelled by robust inflow of foreign tourists, but is also emerging to be a leading player in the global industry. The tourism and hospitality sector is among the top 15 sectors in India to attract the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). During the period April 2000-September 2015, the hotel and tourism sector attracted around US$ 8.48 billion of FDI, according to the data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
With the rise in the number of global tourists and realising India’s potential, many companies have invested in the tourism and hospitality sector and this coupled with Government’s initiatives like , Make in India, issuance of e- visa, speedy implementation of tourism projects, emphasis on infrastructure development etc., which the hospitality industry feels shall only fuel further growth.
Traditionally, Russia has been one of the largest source markets for Goa. In 2015, there was a dip in the number of Russians visiting Goa. Geopolitical crisis in Russia coupled with weak business sentiments in the Eurozone resulted in decline in charter and foreign individual travel to the state.
Sable said, “In 2016 we are expecting a revival of few European markets and Russia CIS. However, the quick shift to the ever buoyant and high paying domestic cushioned this situation and grew the RevPar for the market. Domestic trends are sending strong signals of an ever growing market and that is here to stay at least till 2021. Goa in general has maintained a steady occupancy of about 3.5 per cent growth in average rates (HVS) and a 2.3 per cent increase in occupancy over 2013/14. With the overall demand and supply dynamics remained in line with historical trends, what was noticeable was the change in nature of demand and its segmentation.”
In 2015, trends in the Mumbai region revealed that there was a growth in the overall FIT business. Sud said, “Financial year 2015-16 has been an encouraging year as it has demonstrated stability and has shown growth in overall FIT business. Despite increased inventory within five kms radius, we have grown our overall market share with increase in rooms share and at a commendable ADR leadership. The next financial year too is forecasted to grow exponentially and we are determined to maintain our RevPar leadership.”
In 2016, hotels in the region are expected to focus more on introducing novel initiatives to further grow and consolidate brand loyalty and market dominance.
