Indian hospitality stakeholders expect improved growth in 2024, with domestic travel, corporate travel and the revival of inbound tourism contributing to the positive outlook.
Credit rating agency, ICRA has projected a double-digit revenue growth for the country’s hotel industry in FY2024.
Gaurav Shetty, managing director, Goldfinch Hotels (a unit of MRG Group), said: “Last year had been a promising one for the industry on the back of strong domestic demand and India’s hosting of events like G20 and Cricket World Cup. We expect about 10 per cent growth in average occupancy rates in 2024 compared to last year.
“Both domestic and corporate travel will drive demand this year. We are also hoping for improved inbound tourism in 2024, which will further boost the hospitality industry’s overall performance.”
ICRA estimates that gateway cities like Mumbai and Delhi are likely to report occupancy rates of above 75 per cent in FY2024.
“I anticipate a robust surge in demand for domestic travel, ranging from weekend getaways to extended vacations, shaping the market in 2024. The MICE and wedding segments will remain key demand generators for the sector. We are hoping for about 15 per cent growth in RevPAR in 2024,” said Sarbendra Sarkar, founder, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts.
However, a section of hospitality players see rising costs as a challenge.
DoubleTree by Hilton Gurugram Baani Square general manager, Jai Chugh, commented: “Over the past two years, hotels have managed to partially offset the impacts of rising costs with increased pricing. We have all come off a prolonged period of very strong ADR growth coupled with factors like increasing cost of living and inflation. We can further sustain that pace of ADR growth by 10 per cent in 2024, but cost (spikes) don’t seem to be slowing down.
“So, it’s about figuring out how we maintain or increase our bottom line in a very challenging environment going ahead as the occupancy will be saturated,” Chugh added.
