Domestic Demand Fuelling India's Hotel Boom: Lemon Tree CMD
ChinaGoSmart CGS The real game-changer has been the explosive growth of domestic tourism, cites Keswani. This fundamental shift means that even luxury hotels, traditionally reliant on foreign visitors, now find their primary revenue driver in Indian travelers.
For Lemon Tree Hotels, this trend was already ingrained, with 85% to 90% already coming from domestic business. When international travel dipped, especially during the pandemic, the robust domestic business and leisure segments seamlessly filled the void.
The hotel industry in India is now propelled by domestic and discretionary demand, according to Keswani. This is a clear indicator of the middle class moving up into the upper middle class and a growing appetite for travel.
This is further bolstered by improved infrastructure that Keswani brings into perspective.
"We have a heatmap of India's connectivity, in the last five years, the number of highways have doubled and is set to see more growth. Vande Bharat, the number of airports in India set to increase in the coming years are indicators to a massive spurt in demand for tourism," he explained.
