Season too cold for city hotels

Season too cold for city hotels
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Santa Claus will not come to Corporate Bangalore and the tourism industry will be a whining child this Christmas. India’s corporate city is having a hard time attracting tourists in December although elite hotels have halved their room tariff.

Travel and tourism executives said that Bangalore cannot brand itself as a cultural destination and in December most corporate expatriates will leave the city. The other problem is attributed to the high room rents in package tours, which stands between 15-20 per cent of the total package cost.

Taj West End General Manager P K Mohan Kumar said Bangalore had the opportunity to brand itself, but faced a slump in December.

“The holiday season is dull as most expats leave the country. But the market lies in attracting those who will stay here and we aim at tapping their families. The other aspect is that Bangalore can essentially be branded for various other reasons, which will last through the year. There has to be support from the government if we have to promote the city as a meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions destination,” he said.

K Aiyappa Sommaiah from Kuoni Travels said Bangalore’s tourism industry slumped in December, as it provided an opportunity for people to visit other parts of the country.

“Bangalore, being a pre eminent IT destination, will not attract foreigners in December. Expat corporates would like to spend Christmas at home. Bangalore does not have a cultural experience of its own, unlike Mysore which has history behind it.

Hotels reduce their tariff by at least 50 per cent this season in order to attract tourists. But, Christmas is a slump as the city does not offer any cultural experience. It is a corporate city in the vacationer’s mind,” he said.

Taj West End director (sales) L Rakhee added that Bangalore had its own old world charm that could be branded.

“We have organised customised packages for our customers who are here on holiday. The city is a stopover to visit other parts of the State and it has its own vibrant local culture that could be promoted. It has got its pubs and gardens.

Weather and heritage play a major role to attract foreign tourists during Christmas. Corporates may form part of the package tour, but they will be travelling on leisure and not on business,” she said.

Most travel agencies revealed that tourists did not like paying 20 percent as hotel charges on package tours to Bangalore. So most tour operators whisk tourists away from hotels after just a night’s stay.