Business

ITC Group Firm, Fortune Park Hotels To Add 15 New Properties In Next 2.5 Years: MD Samir MC

ITC group firm Fortune Park Hotels Ltd plans to add 15 new properties with 1,500 rooms in the next two-and-a-half years to its portfolio as part of its expansion across India, according to company Managing Director Samir MC.

The hospitality firm, which currently has 42 properties with a room inventory of around 3,200, is looking to cater to strong domestic demand in smaller cities and also from pilgrimage tourism.

“In a country like ours, we are very high on domestic travel, and that will just continue increasing at a higher rate than what the inbound would increase. So, definitely for a chain like ours, that’s a key factor which defines our strategy of growth,” Samir told PTI.

ITC to grow in various parts of India

Hence, he said, “We look at growing into various parts of the country, whether it’s Tier one, Tier two, Tier three.”

Given the fact Fortune Park Hotels is a “hardcore Indian company”, Samir said it understands the Indian consumers, their expectations and their behaviours very well, besides the cultural elements across different parts of the country.

“So, that has helped us also get into many of the tier three locations, which typically we might be the first brand to get into that location. We are soon going to open a few hotels around the country in some very varied locations,” he added.

In the near future, the company expects new hotels located at Kalimpong, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Tirupur and Goa to come up.

Also Read: Industrialists Mukesh Ambani With Akash Ambani Visit Somnath On Occasion Of Mahashivratri

‘1200 rooms will be there in the new hotel’

“So these four-five hotels will be the next to open, out of the 15-odd properties, we have in our pipeline over the next two-and-a-half years,” Samir said, adding these new hotels will add around 1,200 rooms.

On the recovery from the impact of the pandemic, he said last year also it was domestic travel, which was key as it was very strong and especially travels into Tier II and III cities were extremely good.

“The other very interesting aspect we are seeing is that there is good growth in the pilgrimage tourism as well,” Samir said, adding there is definitely some focus on the pilgrimage tourism bit as well.

The company already has a presence in pilgrimage tourism with properties at Tirupati, Madurai and the recently opened one at Katra, with an upcoming one in Amritsar, which is very close to the Golden Temple, he added.

‘Shirdi and Ajmer might be future locations’

“We are also looking at some future locations like Shirdi, and Ajmer as well as some of the Jyotirlinga locations like Deoghar,” he said.

On the overall business performance this fiscal, Samir said it has been a great year and the company has exceeded the pre-pandemic numbers in occupancy and the revenue per available room is higher than it was in 2019-20.

Source PTI

Bharat Express English

Recent Posts

Gautam Adani Hails Puri Lifeguards As Unsung Heroes During Rath Yatra Visit

Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, visited Puri in Odisha during the annual Rath…

10 hours ago

Acharya Pramod Krishnam Slams Congress Over ‘Internal Emergency’ Allegation

Acharya Pramod Krishnam, stirred political debate by claiming an 'internal emergency' still exists within the…

10 hours ago

MRM Meeting: Pledge for Global Peace, Green India, De-addiction & Democratic Integrity

Taking a crucial step toward positive transformation, social reform, and global peace, the Muslim Rashtriya…

10 hours ago

India To Host 2029 World Police & Fire Games; Amit Shah Hails Global Recognition

India has been chosen to host the prestigious 2029 World Police and Fire Games in…

11 hours ago

Seeing The Lord Among Devotees Is The Pinnacle Of Humility: Gautam Adani At Rath Yatra

Gautam Adani, along with his wife and Karan, participated in the Rath Yatra in Puri,…

13 hours ago

PM Modi Interacts With Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla Aboard The ISS

PM Narendra Modi interacted with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to reach the…

14 hours ago