?Insight of Luxury Hotel Market in India

People plan for holidays, outings, travel spots and vacations as the festival seasons start following one after the other each year. The first thing people look out when it comes to staying out of their homes is luxury hotels.

Luxury hotels have come a long way. From being the only grand hotel in India to multi channel hotel chains, one runs out of count, as there has been mammoth growth in the Luxury Hotel market in India.

Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) to the States/Union Territories (UTs) grew by 15.5 per cent y-o-y to 1.65 billion (provisional) during 2016 with the top 10 States/UTs contributing about 84.2 per cent to the total number of DTVs, as per Ministry of Tourism.

India’s rising middle class and increasing disposable incomes has continued to support the growth of domestic and outbound tourism.

As per Ministry of Tourism, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India increased 19.5 per cent year-on-year to 630,000 in May 2017. FTAs on e-tourist visa increased 55.3 per cent year-on-year to 68,000 in May 2017.

India's foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) through tourism increased by 32 per cent year-on-year to reach US$ 2.278 billion in April 2017, as per data from Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

India is expected to move up five spots to be ranked among the top five business travel market globally by 2030, as business travel spending in the country is expected to treble until 2030 from US$ 30 billion in 2015.

International hotel chains will likely increase their expansion and investment plans in India, and are expected to account for 50 per cent share in the Indian hospitality industry by 2022, from the current 44 per cent.

"The idea was founded on the principles of being authentic and genuine," said Silki Sehgal, director of corporate communications at the Oberoi Group.

"Experiences are designed so that our guests develop an everlasting bond not only with our hotels but the destination they are in. Listening actively to our guests allows us to refresh and update our hotels, services and experiences."

Global tourism has made the world smaller; people are flocking in and out of the country more frequently than it used to be a decade ago.

Also the introduction of FDI has encouraged foreign investors and brands to collaborate with the domestic luxury hotels. Furthermore it has provided the required exposure to the foreign companies and domestic companies. There is cut throat competition between the luxury brands and all are collectively working to fetch as many customers as they can before the market grows any further.

The tourism and hospitality sector is among the top 10 sectors in India to attract the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). During the period April 2000-March 2017, the hotel and tourism sector attracted around US$ 10.14 billion of FDI, according to the data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Government is also encouraging tourism to generate revenue and promote the country in global basis, which has been proved to be boon for the luxury hotel companies, in more than one ways.