4 more luxury hotels under construction, one proposed at Amritsar airport

Neeraj Bagga

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 7

Four more luxury-segment hotel properties are under construction in the city and one is proposed at the Amritsar airport while four five-star properties are already operational in the city. Besides, there are eight more four-star category hotels under construction.

The city’s first five-star hotel, Ista, which is now being run under the brand name Hyatt, was commissioned in 2009. Other luxury segment hotels presently being run in the city are Radisson, Ramada and Holiday Inn.

It is learnt that reputed luxury hotel chains Sarovar, Marriott, Taj’s Vivanta, Park Plaza and some others are building infrastructure. A five-star property is coming up at Circuit House with the assistance of the state government and another such hotel is proposed in the vicinity of Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport.

Confirming this, Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHARA) president APS Chatha said a maximum number of over 250 units of the hospitality sector, under various categories, are situated here if you consider the whole of the state.

He said a glut of hotels, coupled with high and multiple taxes, was causing sleepless nights to the hospitality players.

Even as a section of hotel players complain of low occupancy, brand presence, anticipation of restoration of bilateral trade ties with Pakistan and intensification of development with the declaration of smart city, the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor and setting up of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) pushed them to invest here.

The city has already earned the distinction of being the second city in north India after Delhi to have so many five-star hotels.

Aiming to cater to NRIs, international tourists and pilgrims besides high-end local customers, these hotels will offer a range of facilities at one place.

Seasoned players in the hospitality industry are not excited because they fear that a deluge of hotels would see availability of rooms surpassing the demand.

The hospitality players demand quality infrastructure from the state government, early commissioning of tourist sight-seeing projects like the heritage village, the Gobindgarh Fort and the summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. They said these projects would prolong the stay of tourists in the city who vanish after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and attending the retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah joint check-post.