India is likely to add 50,000 hotel rooms in top six cities in the next five-six years with NCR set to witness highest number of rooms (17,550), followed by Mumbai (10,200) and Bangalore (9,400).

A report on “Indian Hospitality Story 2012 & Beyond,” brought out by Cushman and Wakefield-CII, outlines major trends in the country and major cities.

However, the report found that there was a decline of 4 per cent in the average occupancy rate and 5 per cent in the average room rate over 2011. Akshay Kulkarni, Regional Director – Hospitality, South and South East Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, said “India’s hospitality sector has been witnessing interest from a variety of segments. The demand has been strong from both foreign as well as domestic tourists.”

NCR, with a total room supply of 17,500 rooms, is expected to see the highest fresh hotel room supply in the next five years. Mumbai (10,200) and Bangalore (9, 400) will also see significant addition to the existing inventories in the city.

The addition of new inventory will be concentrated in growth areas around airports, commercial and industrial corridors and SEZs.

Chennai recorded the highest occupancy levels amongst the top six cities at 64 per cent.

Hyderabad has been a sluggish market for hotel performance as it has been gripped by some internal disturbances that keep arising in the region. The occupancy levels experienced by hotels have been hovering around 53 per cent in the first half of 2012.

> rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in