Homelites-to-hotel brand ITC, which opened its first hotel outside India last week with a property in Sri Lanka, Colombo has launched another hotel in the international market.
Through its subsidiary Fortune Hotels, ITC has expanded into the Nepal market with a 66 room property in Bhaktapur.
"We continue to grow in tier II, III markets in India where see rural India enhancing growth of the country but it also made sense to look at proximal markets outside India as ITC is a fairly known brand. First international market ITC went into is Sri Lanka's Colombo and through its subsidiary it has entered Nepal," said Samir MC, MD, Fortune Hotels.
He added that they will look at markets in and around South Asia to begin with for further international expansion.
Two segments Fortune Hotels is betting big on for its Nepal property is wedding market and tourists opting for spiritual destinations.
"It is a great potential location for destination wedding. Also, it is right next to Shiva temple so we will have spiritual tourism as an option as well. It (Bhaktapur) happens to be on the route of Manasarovar so the tourists from Kathmandu have this as an option as this becomes an important stop in their pilgrimage tour. Bhaktapur is a world UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) site so popular among tourists and it is a drive away from Kathmandu, " Samir said.
The hotel chain within India is also looking to tap into the demand for spiritual destinations with active discussions with some investors to open property in Ayodhya.
Also read: ITC's Fortune Hotels plans presence in Ayodhya as it eyes potential in smaller cities
Samir also pointed out that Nepal is a market dependent on tourism. "After the pandemic, it is continuing to see international arrivals coming from the western markets. It continues to be pre-dominantly dependent on India and China. India being the leader in terms of inbound arrivals followed by the US and China. Inbound tourism seem to be growing and hotels are pricing inventories 20 percent over pre-pandemic period."
While Fortune Hotels has no target for international expansion, in India it plans to scale up by 50 percent in terms of hotel openings.
"In FY24, we opened eight hotels and in FY25 we are looking at surpassing this number and open 10-12 hotels in 12 to 15 months. In the next few months, we are looking at opening hotels in Goa, Kevadia in Gujarat, followed by Chennai and potentially in Palampur which will come in the next couple of months," he said.
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