Hotel rooms in Odisha stagnated for last 20yrs : HRAO

Odisha has the lowest number of hotel rooms under approved category in India and ranks last among top 14 tourist states in India in terms of total classified hotels

Contrary to expectations, the hotel rooms under star category in Odisha is abysmally low compared to other major states of the country.

"In Odisha, the total rooms under star category is only 723 since last 20 years. The new hotels which have been commissioned during the same period in the state are Ginger (100 rooms) and Sandy's Tower (yet to be classified) with 73 rooms," said J K Mohanty, chairman, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) in his recent presentation before the state chief secretary. In major cities of the country, the number of hotel rooms have soared to 103,855 in 2013-14 from 39,285 in 2006-07.

He said, Odisha has the lowest number of hotel rooms under approved category in the country and ranks last among the top 14 tourist states in India in terms of total classified hotels. The state has eight hotels under the three star category and two hotels in the five star deluxe bracket. Three hotel projects with total 158 rooms are under construction in the state.

"We can only get tourists to the state when we have good hotels and good accommodation facilities spread out in all tourist locations," Mohanty said. Out of the top 20 hotel brands in India, only three brands, namely Trident, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and Ginger are present in the state, which have a distinct advantage of global marketing for attracting international tourists.

HARO estimated that Rs 2,500 crore needs to be invested in the tourism sector in the state over next five years to bring it at par with other major states. It said, there is requirement of 5,000 hotel rooms across the state by 2016. Mohanty said, there is need for 4,000 rooms of three star category with an investment of Rs 30 lakh per room amounting to Rs 1,200 crore, and 1,000 rooms of five star category costing Rs 1 crore each, totalling Rs 1,000 crore.

The association has proposed that at least Rs 30 crore should be spent every year on tourism promotion campaign road shows abroad and other states within India while another Rs 30 crore be earmarked for advertisements in the electronic and print media every year.

HRAO has demanded that at least 500 acres of land should be identified for creation of special tourism zones in each district and this developed land should be allotted to hotel chains and entrepreneurs, with priority for local players.