| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 14/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 36 |
| Copyright: Other |
Business market by David Tarpey
Hotel chains cash in on conferencing potential
Operators expand property portfolios
As India’s economy powers ahead on the back of industries such as Information Technology and telecommunications, the country has seen a surge in the number of foreign business people visiting the country.The launch of Virgin’s twice-weekly service to Delhi from Heathrow and the announcement by Emirates of a new service to Chennai (formerly Madras) via Dubai to start on September 1 are clear signs of the airlines’ confidence in the destination’s ability to attract both leisure, and increasingly, business travellers. Recognising the potential of the lucrative business market the India Tourist Office has put together a number of familiarisation trips for decision makers in the worlds of incentive travel and those involved with convention and conference planning.
The first trip took place in April and visited Goa. Another is planned for this September with a third one scheduled for early next year.
The tourist office is also placing adverts in relevant publications to flag up the virtues of India as a conference and incentive destination.
The country’s biggest indigenous hotel group Taj is at the forefront of hosting both high-spending leisure visitors as well as those from the business sector. Its Taj Palace hotel in Delhi has a separate convention centre attached which includes a hi-tech business unit.
Director of sales and marketing for the Taj group, Subhash Thaker, said: “We’re seeing some immense changes in UK perceptions of India. The more people we send out there on fam trips, the better the feedback. People can’t believe how sophisticated the facilities are in our hotels, especially the technology. In some cases, it’s more advanced than what’s available here. Europe has been exploiting the Indian conference and convention market for years but the British have been slow because of their colonial preconceptions that India is backward.”
Although much smaller than Taj, India’s luxury Oberoi hotel chain operates 15 hotels across the sub-continent. It plans to open two more in October, Wildflower Hall in Mashobra, Shimla near the Himalayas, and the 112-bedroom Amarvilas in Agra. Both will boast extensive conference and meetings facilities with state-of-the-art equipment.
Foreign hotel groups have been quick to recognise the country’s potential. The biggest foreign chain in India, the Forte-owned Le Meridien brand, currently operates three properties but it has embarked on a four-year programme of expansion. By 2004, it aims to have a portfolio of 10 hotels with 4,000 rooms spanning the country.
In June, it opened Le Royal Meridien Chennai and this month it opens Le Meridien Mumbai, a boutique-style hotel with 171 rooms aimed primarily at the business market. In December, the group will open Le Meridien Cochin and there are plans for properties in Goa and Juhu Beach.
Although Hilton International says it has no plans to exploit the Indian phenomenon, Hyatt does. This month, it opens a 390-bedroom Grand Hyatt just 15 minutes from Delhi’s international airport. The hotel is specifically aimed at the business market and boasts features such as a 24-hour business centre, meeting rooms, 16 business suites, six executive suites and all the latest that technology can offer those working from their rooms.
The hotel joins the company’s only other existing hotel, an eight-year-old Hyatt Regency in Delhi. But, according to a Hyatt spokesperson, this latest property is just the start of a bigger plan.
Next year, the company will open Hyatt Regency properties in Calcutta and Mumbai, with a Grand Hyatt planned for Mumbai in 2003. Also on the drawing board are a Hyatt Regency in Goa by 2002 and a Park Hyatt for Calcutta in 2003.
n To help promote meetings and incentive tourism, India’s Department of Tourism produces a guide to the country’s top-class meetings and conference venues called ‘India – a convention planner’.
Many of these are based in hotels but it also lists a city by city guide to what’s available and where. It is updated regularly and will soon be out in on CD-ROM. For a copy of the booklet or the CD-ROM, call the India Tourist Office on 020-7734 6613, or visit www.icpb.org.
Taking it all in: business visitors to India can see sights such as the Taj Mahal in Agra
top five
Business cities
Dominant: the Taj is the country’s biggest hotel group, known for its convention facilities
factfile
business venues
n Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, has a 1,285-capacity main auditorium, six function halls and a language interpretation service.
n New Delhi’s India Habitat Centre has a 537-capacity auditorium, 14 function halls and one exhibition hall.
n The Jaypee Palace Hotel and Convention Centre, Agra, takes 1,500 delegates and has a 700-capacity banquet hall.
n The World Trade Centre, Mumbai, has an exhibition area of 25,250sq ft andconference halls for up to 350 people.
n The Gitanjali Convention Centre, Chennai, caters for up to 700 people.
n Science City, Calcutta, has an auditorium that caters for 2,232people plus eight seminar halls.
n Cochin Convention Centre’s hall seats 1,600. It has four smaller halls too.
Expansion: Le Meridien plans to open more hotels in places such as Goa