Hopes on domestic market

High-end Indian clients, who used to visit Thailand and South East Asian countries, are now splurging on local tourist destinations and paying better than foreign tourists, which is an advantage.

Nisha Verma

The domestic market has done exceedingly well, claims JK Mohanty, CMD of Swosti Group, who is also the Chairman of IATO Eastern Region and Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO). “Our turnover in the hotels is much higher than in the pre-pandemic period,” he shares.

However, does that guarantee enough revenue for hotels? Mohanty says, “High-end clients, especially those who were going and spending their money in countries like Thailand and South East Asian countries, are now discovering interiors and tourist destinations in India. The high-end Indian customers are paying much better than what we used to get from foreign tourists. It’s a great advantage and an eye-opener for the market.” However, he believes that inbound tourists will come eventually.

He shares that Swosti utilised the pandemic period to plan a new mega resort in Puri, on which the work is going on. “Hopefully in 2023 we would operate the first five-star hotel on the beach in Puri,” he announces.

Mohanty is disappointed with the promotion of Odisha at a central level. “Odisha has been greatly excluded from their publicity campaign. We have spoken to Odisha Tourism to take it up with the ministry and we are hopeful that they will consider this,” he says.