After suffering losses for many decades, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) is all set to record Rs.15 crore profit in the current financial year 2014-15, its Chairman Vijayan Thomas has said.
“We were also able to repay a Rs.13-crore loan during the period,” he said. He was speaking at the inauguration of KTDC’s Bolgatty Event Centre, a 16,000-square feet convention centre cum dining area built at a cost of Rs.6 crore near Bolgatty Palace Hotel here on Thursday. The facility can seat 1,000 people, while provision is being made for another 2,000 people.
Terming the agency as the biggest public-sector enterprise in India’s tourism sector, Mr. Thomas said eight of its 70 hotels would be renovated this year.
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“Many KTDC hotels like the one in Chennai are recording 100 per cent room occupancy. Considering the crucial role played by service sector in Kerala, the government and Kerala Tourism must take note of the acute staff crunch in KTDC hotels,” he said. He added that a referendum that regulated the number of recognised unions to three has increased the agency’s efficiency and subsequent earnings.
In his inaugural address, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the event centre in scenic Bolgatty Island was a visual treat and a unique asset of the State. “Kerala’s backwaters found mention in U.S. President Barak Obama’s address during his recent India visit and it is noteworthy that the KTDC’s event centre abuts onto the backwaters,” he said. He lauded KTDC’s top officials for converting the loss-making enterprise into a profit-making one.
Minister for Tourism A.P. Anil Kumar said there was dearth of convention centres in Kochi, despite it being a tourist hub. He assured that an all-out effort would be made to increase KTDC’s staff strength since the agency had begun making profit.
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The event centre is the latest value addition to the heritage hotel, which is the oldest Dutch Palace outside of Holland.