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"India has over two lakh rooms in hotel and guest house category and there is shortage of about one lakh rooms, especially in the budget and mid market segment," the minister said in his inaugural address at the 48th Annual convention of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association here.
There is a need for more hotels in non-metro cities in India, he said. "The tourism industry has been witnessing an upswing in the last few years and revenues are expected to touch$431.7 billion by 2020 end. Foreign tourist arrivals will register over eight per cent growth by 2020," he said.
The tourism ministry has currently initiated 29 mega projects in 22 states, Chiranjeevi said.
The government is focussing beyond traditional tourism avenues like medical tourism, wild life, wellness tourism, and village tourism, he said.
Referring to Kerala, he said his ministry had sanctioned Rs 126 crore for various projects in the 10th plan, which had gone up to Rs 152 crore in the 11th plan. Six projects worth Rs 78 crore had been sanctioned for the state last year. This year, three projects worth Rs 5.76 crore had been sanctioned, he said.
The Tourism ministry has prioritised 14 projects for grant of central financial assistance, he said adding the pace of utilisation of central funds had increased in the state.
With emphasis shifting to off beat destinations, Indian travellers were seeking to explore more exquisite travel options, he said.
