Picturesque historical sites, natural beauty, beaches, and religious pilgrimage sites make Andhra Pradesh one of the most sought-after places to visit.
This coupled with a long coastline and an evolving economy make corporate travel a lucrative segment too for hotels.
However, the hospitality industry in the state has been seeking government support to make it a thriving and profitable industry.
A primary demand among hospitality leaders is the recognition of the sector as an industry. Mr. Pavan Kartheek MV, Vice President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Andhra Pradesh (HRAAP) and General Manager of Keys Select Hotel, emphasized the importance of this status.
“As a hospitality industry we are mainly focusing on the industry status. We request the government, to give us industry status for the benefit of the hospitality industry. This will give encouragement to a lot of industrialists to come up with more projects and thus create more employment in the state.”
Another pertinent issue faced by the sector is the bar license fee. Industry insiders point out that the cost of acquiring a bar and liquor license ranges from Rs 50 to 65 lakhs annually.
This the industry says deters potential investors from entering the market and prevents those currently in the business to expand due to hefty taxes on alcoholic beverages.
Similarly enhancing nightlife could significantly boost youth tourism in the state. When asked about the importance of nightlife in attracting young visitors, Mr. Iyyer Raja Verma, the Managing Director of SunRay Resort, expressed his views candidly, “Why would someone come to a place where they cannot party or chill? Youngsters today are travelling and they like to club, party, and all.”
Industry has also been vocal in urging the state government to develop basic infrastructure at tourists hot spots which they say is paramount.
‘We need to develop tourist areas and create basic infrastructure near tourist sites, transport, guides, marketing tourist areas, spreading awareness, maintaining hygienic toilets, city shuttles, travel marts, festivals etc.’ said Mr G Venkata Krishna, joint managing director, Daspalla Hotel.
Mr Krishna also advocated for a tourism board which he said can consist of experienced and seasoned members from the hospitality trade and the government and will act to promote tourism in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking on religious tourism requests to the government by seasoned Tirupati hoteliers have been to include access to religious tourist places wherein hotels can be provided daily quotas of at least 15 – 30 special V.V.I.P. tickets for darshan.
Mixed Results
Barring government support the hotel industry in AP seems to have had a mixed 2024 in terms of revenue & sales. While some hotels witnessed growth others saw a decline.
‘The first 5 months of 2024 have surprised hoteliers pleasantly. The start of the year was a little slow but post the first week, occupancies were high with conferences.
The biannual events MILAN gave a tremendous push to February rates’ mentioned Mr. Hormuzdyr Gabba, General Manager, Grand Bay by ITC Hotels, Visakhapatnam.
“There has been a growth in room revenue and F & B section due to MICE,” said another 5-star hotel industry stalwart.
Speaking on the first 5 months Mr Krishna however said that the first half of 2024 wasn’t that good. ‘We expected good occupancy growth and F&B sale increase but did not see the growth as expected.
Even last fiscal was not that great in terms of revenue. We have seen a 20-25% decrease in Room and F&B business in FY 23-24 and even in the current year when compared to the previous fiscal year’ noted Mr Krishna.
