After taking steps to enter the Indian civil aviation sector in association with Tatas, AirAsia promoter Tony Fernandes' Tune Group is set to foray into the country's hospitality sector with plans to open 100 budget hotels across the country by 2020.
The group's hospitality chain, Tune Hotels has tied up with Mumbai-based Apodis Hotels and Resorts to form a joint venture (JV) -- Tune Hotels India Services -- for the initial phase of expansion in India, targeting places like Bhavnagar,
Delhi, Neemrana, Jaipur, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Chennai.
"We are looking at opening 100 hotels in India by 2020 as we feel India is going to be a very important market for us," Tune Hotels Group CEO Mark Lankester told PTI in a telephonic interview from Kuala Lumpur.
"As we progress, we will also move to tier II and tier III cities as the requirement is huge in most such places," he added.