InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Plans to Open Hotels in India in Next 10 Years

India: The UK-based hospitality chain, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), is planning to open around 100 to 150 properties in India over the next ten years. Since, India is the third largest growth market for IHG after US and China, so the group plans to open more hotels in India over the next ten years.

Currently, IHG operates 25 hotels with 4,000 rooms in 14 Indian cities. The latest addition to the list was the opening of first luxury beach resort with 105 rooms under IGH banner at Mamallapuram, near Chennai. The new plan includes opening 51 hotels with 10,000 rooms. Initially IGH had three properties within Chennai - Adyar Gate Hotels under Crowne Plaza brand, Holiday Inn Express at Mahindra World City and IGH resort at Mamallapuram. With the opening of Holiday Inn at Tidel Park, Chennai has become the first city in the country to have all the four brands.

According to TechSci Research, the Group currently operates 25 hotels under four brands in India – two InterContinental Hotels, 10 Crowne Plaza, 10 Holiday Inn and three Holiday Inn Express hotels. Hence the group’s focus of opening more hotels in India is likely to increase their revenue and presence in Indian Market as India is an important market for IHG.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “India Travel & Tourism Market, By Product/Service Offering, By Type, By Purpose of Visit, By Tourist Profile, By Average Duration of Stay, By Mode of Travel, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021”, the market for travel & tourism in India is forecast to grow at a CAGR of around 7.23% during 2016-2021, on account of increasing trend of medical, wellness and adventure tourism in the country and rising number of online bookings due to growing smartphone and internet penetration. Additionally, Government of India has also been focusing on the launch of several marketing and branding initiatives such as “Incredible India!” and “Athiti Devo Bhava”. This is projected to further propel growth in India travel & tourism market over the course of next five years. Domestic tourism dominated India travel & tourism market in 2015, on account of increasing number of local excursions, reginal trips, national level trips, etc., and the segment is expected to maintain its dominance in the market through 2021. Additionally, leisure and recreation is anticipated to emerge as the highest revenue generating segment in India travel and tourism market during the forecast period.