About 10 years ago, if an industrial association wanted to organise a seminar or conference in the city, it could do so only at hotels that had conference halls large enough to accommodate its guests.
But, things have changed thanks to huge investments in the hospitality sector and Coimbatore is now home to some global hotel brands that offer many facilities.
There has also been an increase in the number of less expensive hotels in the room tariff range of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 2000. Gandhipuram, Saibaba Colony and RS Puram especially have seen a significant rise in hotels, serviced apartments, and home stays, says a leading property consultant. Most of the hotel properties in these locations have less than 50 rooms.
The floating population to the city has gone up, and with it the average occupancy level in the hotels has increased too from 35 to 39 per cent. The exact data will be available only by the end of this year. The demand for rooms is driven by local business, healthcare sector, students and visitors for social events. Economic growth needs social infrastructure and connectivity. The hospitality sector has seen investments in the recent years and visitors now have several options to choose from. What is now needed is better connectivity. “Air connectivity to Dubai and Colombo should be taken up on priority basis. If Coimbatore gets it, we will go to the next level,” says D. Nandakumar, president of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore.
(reporting by
M. Soundariya Preetha)
