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Our Bureau

Kochi , Jan. 30

LE Meridien, the international hotel group, plans to make its Kochi property a hub for conferences in this region, even as it intends to double its number of hotels in India over the next five years.

"We will continue to grow (in India). It is so important from a tourism standpoint," said Mr Robert E. Riley, Chief Executive Officer of Le Meridien, which runs 135 hotels in 57 countries.

Mr Riley said by the end of this year, Le Meridien will add two more hotels in India - one at Kovalam and another in Hyderabad. It currently has nine hotels in the country.

Le Meriden is currently adding about 34,000 sq ft of area to its conference facility at the Kochi property. "Kochi is to be a key hub for conferences," Mr Riley said.

After completion, Kochi Le Meridien will have 85,000 sq ft of air-conditioned conferencing area, one of the largest such facility for the hotel chain in the country.

Already the Kochi property is attracting big conferences. Global advertising giant, Ogilvy & Mather, for instance, is holding an international gathering here next week, for which the agency's top brass is flying in.

Le Meridien is also adding 73 more rooms and three cottages to the Kochi property. This wing will be ready in the next three months. Its second hotel in the State, coming up at Kovalam, will have 200 rooms.

Mr Riley said all its Indian properties are profitable with the country contributing about $100 million to the group's annual revenues of $1.5 billion.

"India has the highest number of Meridiens in the world," he said. Of the 135 properties, it owns only 37 units, and runs the other hotels in association with the property owners under a profit-sharing arrangement.

As part of popularising Indian cuisine abroad, Le Meridien is now planning to hold a Kerala food festival in the West Asian region. The idea is to attract tourists to the State during the monsoon by offering ayurveda packages.

On the impact of tsunami disaster on tourism industry, Mr Riley said except for Thailand and Sri Lanka, other regions were not affected much. Le Meridien's two properties in Thailand were damaged by tsunami, which may take six months to one year for repair work.

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