The hospitality sector is expected to get a leg up in the Capital in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, with many hotels and bed and breakfast establishments coming up, the city is bracing itself to host the mega sporting extravaganza in 2010.
According to the ministry of tourism, 41% of the hotel rooms have been completed for the Commonwealth Games 2010 in the National Capital Region Agra.
Recently, Union secretary of tourism Sujit Banerjee reviewed the progress of the hotel projects with the land owning agencies. According to the review meeting, as a against the 9597 rooms, 3952 rooms have been completed so far.
But a lot of projects may also not be able to meet the scheduled deadline. As reported by ET earlier; at least 16 hotel projects will not be able to meet the deadline of September 2010, according to an assessment by the urban development ministry.
Besides the hotel rooms, a number of bed and breakfast accommodation will be available .About 3,000 rooms will be available from the bed and breakfast / home stays, according to the tourism ministry.
Other than bed and breakfast, 5,500 DDA flats in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area which are being furnished and marketed by the India Tourism Development Corporation will be ready for the Games. Says RajivMakin, director, commercial and marketing .ITDC, “There will be a 24 hour food court within that complex. The rooms will be available for Rs 4,500 – Rs 5,000 per room per day. These flats will be completed by July 2010.We are also renovating Hotel Samrat.Janpath and Ashok for the Games and these will be ready by December. While Hotel Ashok and Samrat will serve as family hotels, Hotel Jan path will host the international media guests.”
However what remains to be seen is also how the bed and breakfast concept will be institutionalized post the 2010 games, Says Suddep Jain, VP, Jones Lang La Salle Hotels.”The bed-and –breakfast system is not new in the Delhi region.However; it was not profitable until the coming of the Commonwealth Games. Now that the system has been revived and officially ratified, it will doubtlessly continue at an organized level even after the Games, Homeowners who have been issued bed-and-breakfast licenses will have to renew them every two years, and three months prior to expiry.”
The expectations are high. And the hospitality sector is trying its best to meet them with hotel projects in full swing, it seems that Delhi is all set to play the perfect host to athletes, fed-erations and tourists alike.
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