Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty (GHB) is betting on MICE and leisure business, thanks to the resurgence of the State’s tourism sector.

“Kerala’s negative perception after last year’s floods has started fading, witnessing an encouraging trend in tourist arrivals. This has reflected in our room occupancy rate during January-March period touching 65 per cent, coupled with a rise in the convention business,” said Mausham Bhattacharjee, Director (Sales & Marketing), GHB.

Events planned

The company hopes to increase footfalls. The introduction of more domestic flights, direct air connectivity to Tel Aviv, rise in the periodicity of tourist travel will help achieve the objective. “We are keen to organise events that will showcase the State as a destination both for leisure and MICE,” he told BusinessLine in an interaction.

GHB, which is completing one year of its operations, had a good start despite the challenges last year. It has facilitated 250 MICE events since its inception in April 2018. Of this, 50 per cent are corporate incentive groups where more revenue was generated. Association events constitute 20 per cent;business conclaves with exhibitions 15 per cent; and more than 200 weddings and social events were also conducted.

“We are consciously trying to bring more congress and conventions since they do not just generate good revenues but also benefit the city overall,” he said, adding that the largest ever event happened at GHB in terms of numbers is the physicians’ conference where nearly 10,000 delegates attended.

Comparison with Colombo

To a question on competition from Sri Lankan destinations, Bhattacharjee said, “Colombo is a competitor but we have a USP of houseboats and backwaters. It is a misnomer that taxation in India is high. Colombo rates are also on the higher side at 30 per cent, whereas ours is only 18 per cent. But cheaper room rates is an attraction for Colombo.”

GHB is acting as an aggregator for other five-star hotels in the region, thereby contributing to a healthy growth of the hospitality industry in the area. This has been made possible by organising large conferences and meetings at the adjacent Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre, Anish Kuttan, Director (Operations), said.

GHB is also hosting the 12th edition of Convention India Conclave in August, organised by India Convention Promotion Bureaus and sponsored by the Tourism Ministry. There will be participation from professional conference organisers and conventional sellers from overseas. The B2B meet will showcase the availability of conventional venues in Kochi and help promote Kerala as a conference destination, he said.

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