The Hindu Business Line : Leela Group plans Rs 900-cr expansion

THE Leela Group, which has just relaunched its beach resort in Kovalam, plans a capital outlay of about Rs 900 crore for expansion in Chennai, Udaipur and Hyderabad. In addition to this, another 120 guest rooms will be added to the Bangalore property, Mr Vivek Nair, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, The Leela Venture Ltd, said.

In a press release, the company said it had relaunched the beach resort as the Leela Kovalam Beach with 194 guest rooms and suites.

It may be recalled that this resort was part of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation's (ITDC) chain of hotels and was disinvested three years ago by ITDC.

The resort is 15 km from Thiruvananthapuram airport, and is spread across 1.50 km of beachfront. Renovations have been going on for the last two years costing about Rs 50 crore.

An additional investment of about Rs 20 crore was on for the sea-view wing and would be completed by December, the release said.

The property has a signature ayurveda and wellness spa, seven therapeutic treatment rooms, a naturally ventilated foot massage pavilion and yoga rooms with immediate access to the beach.

Captain C.P. Krishnan Nair, Chairman, Hotel Leela Venture Ltd, said the group's expansion into Kerala was a strategic move. Mr Vivek Nair said beach tourism in Kerala had not achieved its full potential in spite of the pioneering effort made in 1969 with the opening of the Kovalam resort. This wasmainly because of the marketing thrust given to the backwaters. In the process, beach tourism, which commands an average stay of 10-14 days compared to the two-day average stay of backwater tourism, had lost out, he said.

Also, there had been a lack of large-sized resorts of 200 rooms and above, to cover the requirements of large tour operators and charter agents.

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