Targeting the growing corporate business travellers, The Gateway Hotels and Resorts plans to open more Gateway brands in Kerala, especially in Thrissur, in the near future.

Already having eight properties in Kerala under both Gateway and Vivanta brands, the ninth one is coming up in Kochi’s IT hub, Kakkanad, by next year, P.K.Mohankumar, Chief Operating Officer, The Gateway Hotels and Resorts, said.

Kerala has the potential for more business hotels and the Taj Group also plans to open its Gateway brands in the northern hill district of Wayanad as well as in Kollam, in down south region, he told Business Line .

He was in Kochi in connection with the launch of Sian, a new pan Asian restaurant at The Gateway Hotel, at Marine Drive here.

In future, he said The Gateway brand will be operated under a management contract with technical and management expertise from the Taj Group. The investing pattern of the Taj hotel brands is also undergoing a change in tune with the times with its brand alone playing a significant role in the asset.

He also called upon the State Government to make Kerala a 365 day destination like in Goa. The State should promote its offseason through ayurveda preventive health care packages during monsoon to attract domestic tourists.

For this, Mohankumar suggested rationalisation of airport taxes and ground handling charges in airports to make Kerala destinations more competitive. In Goa, 80-90 per cent of its hotel occupancy is during off season especially from domestic tourists.

“This can be replicated in Kerala under a tax review by the government to make hotel business more competitive, he suggested. The State also needs world class convention centres to attract international medical conferences, he added.

To a question, he said Kerala’s tourist arrivals, both domestic and overseas, have registered a 15-20 per cent decline this year which should be a matter of concern to the state’s tourism sector. The Kerala market mainly depends on arrivals from the European destinations, he said.

He attributed the economic slowdown in Europe and spurt in India’s domestic air fares due to Kingfisher Airlines issues as the mains reasons for this. The domestic air fares had registered a 30 per cent rise compared to last year, he added.

Mohankumar, who is also the member of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association, said that FHRA has been appealing to the Government to grant infrastructure status to the hotel industry because of high cost of development of hotels. If incentives are offered, capacity addition in this sector will happen, he added.

Both the central and state governments should also provide incentives to the industry considering its role in generating more employment opportunities in the country, he said, adding that there is also a need to recognise the hotel industry in India as a ‘mainline economic activity’.

> sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in

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