BANYAN Tree Hotels & Resorts is scheduled to open its inaugural resort in India, Banyan Tree Kerala on December 1, 2012.
Located in Nedithuruthu, midway between Kochi and Alleppey in the southern state of Kerala, the resort will offer 59 villas and one houseboat for a maximum of four guests. All villas will feature two private pools – one lap pool and one regular – in addition to a common outdoor swimming pool.
The resort will also feature four meeting rooms, two F&B outlets, a kids’ club, a gym, and a spa with six treatment rooms.
Manas Sinha, assistant director Key Accounts, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts said: “Our focus (for Banyan Tree Kerala) will be on the domestic luxury market. We are adopting a different business plan from what we practice elsewhere.”
Manoj Saraf, managing director, Gainwell Travel & Leisure Kolkata said: “Banyan Tree opening in India is very welcome, as we now have an option to send our high-end clients to a resort within the country. This will be handy for last minute decision-making by clients, and we will not have to bother about visas as in the case of overseas destinations.”
Meanwhile, in order to boost brand recognition in the domestic market, Banyan Tree has organised a series of one-on-one meetings between high-end local tour operators and marketing representatives from its resorts in Asia, starting with one such meet in Kolkata on March 20.
A plot of land in Goa has also just been acquired for the group’s second India property, which will be a 50- to 65-key resort, scheduled to open in fourth quarter 2014.
Banyan Tree will open four resorts worldwide this year, including two in China and one in Vietnam, while 2013 will see the launch of one Angsana in Vietnam and one Banyan Tree each in China and the Philippines.
