Kochi: Taj Hotels, which heralded Kerala’s growth in tourism in the 1980s, is set to make more investments in the state after a gap.
A new Taj hotel will be coming up in Wayanad this year and existing ones will be upgraded.
The parent firm Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) will also be bringing the Ginger brand to Kochi, and SeleQtion elsewhere.
The hotel coming up in Padinjarethara, near the picturesque Banasura Sagar reservoir, will be Taj’s ninth hotel in Kerala.
Planned on a 15-acre plot, it will have 63 rooms for guests.
The hotel will be easily accessible from Karippur, Kannur and Mangalore airports.
Taj currently has hotels in Bekal, Kozhikode, Kochi, Kumarakom, Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram and Kovalam.
The company has plans to set up more hotels in Alappuzha and Munnar, said Prabhath Varma, executive vice president of IHCL's south India operations.
The Ginger brand is currently limited to Techno Park, Thiruvananthapuram.
The IHCL is upgrading this brand’s image from budget hotel to semi-luxury hotel and adding banquet halls and restaurants to them.
The new Ginger hotel is coming up in Taj Gateway's property on Marine Drive. Taj Malabar and Taj Kumarakom have already received a facelift.
Taj Gateway is next.
Lone tourist numbers rising
(MICE) tourism numbers are declining in Kerala. The number of tourists travelling alone as well as domestic tourists are rising.
More flights from Bangalore, Goa, Vishakhapattanam and Hyderabad have helped the business. Air connectivity is key to tourism sector in Kerala.
