Hotel rates in India up just 1% in H1

Hotel room rates in India increased just 1% in the first half of this year, thus making the country one of the attractive destination for leisure and business travellers, according to a survey.

According to Hotel Price Index survey by Hotels.Com that was carried out in major destinations across the world, room rates have risen by 3% during the same period.

"Room rates in India have remained fairly consistent and that of course means India remains an attractive destination for leisure and business travellers," Hotels.Com Asia Pacific Marketing Director Abhiram Chowdhry said in a statement.

The survey also found that Indian hotel room rates are the cheapest among the 19 countries included in the Hotel Price Index Report.

Countries such as the USA, the UK, China, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Thailand, Indonesia and others are a part of the survey.

"Switzerland is the costliest with an average hotel room rate of Rs 10,525 while an average room in India costs less than half that at Rs 4,202 per night," it said.

While the cultural diversity and variety of tourist locations in India are a major attraction, the availability of good quality hotels at relatively good prices continues to be an important factor in maintaining India’s competitiveness as a tourist destination, Chowdhry added.

He said it was a good time for Indians to venture out to top end destinations like New York and Dubai, which have always been considered expensive but have now become attractive given the recent significant falls in hotel room rates in those destinations earlier this year.

As per the survey, the average cost for four star-rated rooms in New York fell 9% in the first half this year to Rs 13,733 from Rs 15,158 in the same period last year.

Dubai also witnessed 11% fall in rates for similar category to Rs 10,559 from Rs 11,810 in the year-ago period.