In a effort aimed at triggering explosive growth in domestic tourism sector, the Union government has proposed to set up ‘branded’ budget hotels on public private partnership (PPP) basis for the first time, in a big way across the country.
It would help create land bank to overcome the prohibitive cost of land and also the meager availability of land, which have been stalling the establishment of budget hotels.
Besides, it will offer clean and safe accommodation in major cities and thereby bolster the hospitality sector.
According to sources, the lands would be identified through the Central and state government agencies owning unused lands.
The tourism ministry would request the government bodies like state tourism corporations, Indian railways, urban local bodies, village panchayats, state road transport corporations and port trusts to identify suitable land for constructing budget hotels.
Financial incentives and grants would be extended to the land-owning organisation and the lands would be given away through a tender process and companies with a minimum experience of five years in running budget hotels will be allowed to bid for these.
About one hundred hotels in one, two and three-star categories are likely to be established by 2016. Further, 3,440 rooms would be added by the end of the 12th plan period (2012-17).
Sources informed that the PPP agreement would be signed on a build-operate-transfer basis for a period of two decades. Indian Hotels’ budget brand Ginger operates the IRCTC-Rail Yatri Niwas in Delhi on a PPP model with IRCTC.
A research by HVS India, consultancy firm, revealed that the number of branded hotel rooms in India would increase by 43 per cent to 1,02,438 by the end of year 2016 from the present 71,531. Of this, 13,316 rooms would be in the budget category.