October 5 this year came bang in the middle of Shradh, the two-week inauspicious period before festivities start. But in Goa, it was almost as if festivities got an early-bird ticket. The belly dancers jiggled while a Russian acrobat played with fire, even as the cocktails flowed and partygoers got into the vibe that India’s sunshine state oozes with round the year.
The occasion was the glitzy fiesta that launched Ibis Styles Goa Vagator, the latest from the kitty of Accor, the world’s second largest hotel chain. “Anticipating a substantial influx of both domestic and international tourists this season, the hotel promises a distinctive and immersive experience tailored for business and leisure travellers alike,” said Puneet Dhawan, senior vice president, Accor (India & South Asia).
The property’s high booking rates is testament to the eagerness not just in Goa, but across the country, for the tourist season. This is the first full year of recovery after the pandemic, and the stellar performance of the travel and hospitality industry in the past few months has raised hopes for a bumper year. With 31 lakh foreign arrivals in just the first four months of the year and a total of 1.64 crore expected before the year bows out, this will surpass the standing record of 1.09 crore registered back in 2019.
Valued around Rs16 lakh crore, India’s tourism industry is expected to grow at around 13 per cent through 2027. Many top hospitality brands―ITC (north Goa & Tirupur), Taj (Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim), Oberoi (Anand Vilas in Mumbai) and InterGlobe (Novotel Bengaluru)―have opened new properties or are on the verge of opening soon. Lemon Tree’s Aurika, Mumbai Skycity, which opened doors earlier this month near the international airport, is the largest hotel in India, with 669 rooms.
The projections are peachy, with hotels in key markets having occupancy of 70 per cent or above, and flights to just about anywhere packed like sardines despite the high airfares.
The redeeming factor the travel and hospitality industry is falling back on is the surge in domestic tourists. And there has been the event-based boom. The spiralling of room rates at the Cricket World Cup venues is an indicator of the possibilities. “The season demand is going to get bumped up 10 per cent to 20 per cent for the rest of the year,” said J.B. Singh, president & CEO of InterGlobe Hotels. “More than a festive season focussed sector, the hotel industry is moving towards an event-based ‘season’, with conference centres coming up.”
Craig Michael Monteiro, founder of Marketd, a hotel sales consulting firm, said corporate conferences and festivals would play a major role in further streamlining travel and logistics experience. Monteiro was primarily talking about Goa, which has events ranging from the National Games (on till November 9) to the International Film Festival of India and Sunburn Music Festival. With the opening up of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences & exhibitions) venues like Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi recently, he could just as well have been talking about the whole travel and hospitality industry in the country.