Targeting the growing corporate business travellers, the Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) plans to open more of its Gateway Hotels brand in Kerala, especially in Thrissur, in the near future. Already having eight properties in Kerala under both Gateway and Vivanta brands, the ninth property is coming up in Kochi’s IT hub, Kakkanad, by next year, P K Mohankumar, COO, Gateway Hotels and Resorts,
said. Kerala has the potential for more business hotels and IHCL also plans to open its Gateway brands in the northern hill district of Wayanad as well as in Kollam, in down south region, he said, according to a report by V Sajeev Kumar in The Hindu Business Line.
Kumar called upon the State Government to make Kerala a 365-day destination like Goa. The state should promote its off season 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.