The Hindu Business Line : CGH Earth to consolidate in South

The CGH Earth group of hotels plans to consolidate its presence in South India before venturing up North. "After Gokarnam in Karnataka, the group would be opening its 15-room property at Chettinad in Tamil Nadu. We have also bought property along the South Eastern coast close to Mandapam in Rameshwaram and plans are afoot to acquire or open new property in Puducherry," Mr Jose Dominic, Managing Director of CGH Earth, said.

The group is also keen to open a new resort close to the world heritage site of Hampi in Karnataka for which talks are continuing with the State Government. Meanwhile, it is exploring the Konkan coast to build another property between Karwar in Karnataka and Bekal in Kerala.

Globally, the tourism markets are just warming up with increased purchasing power beginning to manifest in the hands of a large segment of the Asian population, be it from China, India or the South East Asian countries.

And along with the changing profile of the international traveller, the hospitality industry in Kerala is also witnessing rapid transformation. New iconic products such as houseboats and home-stays are transforming Kerala's tourism landscape.

Unit size growing smaller

The unit size of tourism in the State has been growing smaller from large gateway hotels with 200-300 rooms at the cities with international airports, to 20-30 room resorts, to home-stays that average 6-7 rooms and finally to houseboats with two, three or four rooms. Since the unit size is getting smaller and more disaggregated, the possibility of sustaining tourism, ecologically, culturally and spatially is also much brighter.

This is also enabling the hospitality industry to cater to the diverse taste of the international traveller. "New frontiers in travel is becoming increasingly intangible and tourism in the State is gearing up to face this latest challenge," Mr Jose said.

CGH Earth has also been gearing up to meet these challenges, offering experiential holidays. Its latest property at Gokarnam permits the visitor to savour the contours of Indian yoga at the beach. At the Kalari Kovilakam at Kollengode, it is a refreshing trip in pure ayurveda, in an ambience of pure vegetarian cuisine.

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CGH Earth to consolidate in South