Kolkata: ITC Hotels Ltd chairman Sanjiv Puri said demand for hotel rooms is going to outpace supplies leading to better occupancy and realisation, aided by increasing international tourist count soon set to overtake pre-Covid levels, economic and infrastructure development. The company is also going to exceed its earlier set target of 200 operational hotels by 2030 and will now have over 220 hotels by then.
Addressing shareholders in the second annual general meeting of ITC Hotels, Puri said India's per capita hotel room penetration is far lower than the global average. There are 0.3 rooms per 1000 people in India as compared to a global average of 2.2 rooms.
“We signed 30 franchisee and management contracts last year. We will cross our target of 200 hotels by 2030 with 220 hotels and 20,000 keys, and the management is now even looking at how to surpass that as well. The asset right strategy will accelerate growth. We are expanding in tier 2 and 3 cities as well,” he said.
As of June, ITC Hotels had 143 operational properties in 90 locations across six brands.
Puri said the hospitality industry in India is poised for strong growth due to rising societal aspirations, growing status of India as an investment destination, digital transformation and strong macros.
“The industry will see a stronger growth trajectory riding a wave of resurgence from high spending by both international and domestic tourists. There is a surge in nature and adventure, culture, spiritual, religious and medical tourism. The government effort to build 50 tourist destinations will be a major multiplier of employment,” he said.
Puri, however, said the geo-political fragmentation is an area of concern which needs to be monitored. In 2024, the foreign tourist inflow to India was shy of 10 million as compared to 11 million in 2019. “There is enough opportunity to go much beyond that,” he said.
The hotels business was demerged from ITC Ltd in January. While ITC Ltd’s promoter holding in ITC Hotels is 39.87%, the second largest shareholder is BAT Plc which owns 15.29% as a foreign direct investment. However, BAT wants to sell its shares in ITC Hotels and is awaiting Reserve Bank of India’s approval, as ET reported on Monday.
Addressing shareholders in the second annual general meeting of ITC Hotels, Puri said India's per capita hotel room penetration is far lower than the global average. There are 0.3 rooms per 1000 people in India as compared to a global average of 2.2 rooms.
“We signed 30 franchisee and management contracts last year. We will cross our target of 200 hotels by 2030 with 220 hotels and 20,000 keys, and the management is now even looking at how to surpass that as well. The asset right strategy will accelerate growth. We are expanding in tier 2 and 3 cities as well,” he said.
As of June, ITC Hotels had 143 operational properties in 90 locations across six brands.
Puri said the hospitality industry in India is poised for strong growth due to rising societal aspirations, growing status of India as an investment destination, digital transformation and strong macros.
“The industry will see a stronger growth trajectory riding a wave of resurgence from high spending by both international and domestic tourists. There is a surge in nature and adventure, culture, spiritual, religious and medical tourism. The government effort to build 50 tourist destinations will be a major multiplier of employment,” he said.
Puri, however, said the geo-political fragmentation is an area of concern which needs to be monitored. In 2024, the foreign tourist inflow to India was shy of 10 million as compared to 11 million in 2019. “There is enough opportunity to go much beyond that,” he said.
The hotels business was demerged from ITC Ltd in January. While ITC Ltd’s promoter holding in ITC Hotels is 39.87%, the second largest shareholder is BAT Plc which owns 15.29% as a foreign direct investment. However, BAT wants to sell its shares in ITC Hotels and is awaiting Reserve Bank of India’s approval, as ET reported on Monday.
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