Conglomerate ITC Ltd on Tuesday said it expects to have up to 60 new hotel properties operational in the next three to four years as it expands to tap the growing potential of the Indian hospitality sector.
The company, which currently has about 40 hotels at various stages of construction, said it will start work on another 15-20 new in the next one year.
"So in the next three to four years ITC will have up to 60 new properties operational," ITC Ltd chief executive Hotels Division Nakul Anand told PTI on the sidelines of Hoteliers' Conclave here.
Asked about investments on the new projects, he said: "It is difficult to quantify as it will vary from property to property." Anand also declined to specify the total number of rooms that could be added with the new properties saying: "Room capacity will vary from 40-60 to up to 600 depending on the type of property."
ITC chairman Y.C. Deveshwar at the firm's AGM in July had stated that the Indian hospitality sector offered investment opportunity of up to Rs 9,000 crore in next 7-10 years.
"At conservative estimates, India needs 50,000 rooms in the next two-three years. This sector, too, carries an investment opportunity of up to 9,000 crore in next 7-10 years to fuel growth," Deveshwar had said.
Of this, ITC would prefer to invest in high-end, seven-star super luxury hotels, although it was not averse to investing in the Fortune chain of hotels, he had said.
ITC operates its hospitality business under the ITC-Welcomgroup, which has properties under the brands — ITC Hotels Luxury Collection, WelcomHotels, Fortune Hotels (budget hotels), and WelcomHeritage (chain of palaces, forts, havelis and resorts).
It has over 100 hotels at over 80 locations in India.