Riding on the Kevadia wave

With a popular tourist attraction just minutes away from it, Tent City 1 is basking in the glory of the buzz created by the Statue of Unity close by. Bhavik Sheth, Finance & Operations Manager, Lallooji & Sons, that manages the luxury tents, discusses their plans.

Hazel Jain

What is the kind of occupancy you are seeing since Gujarat re-opened borders? As the borders have opened up and there are no requirements for COVID-negative tests on entering the state, the occupancy is improving. The efforts of Gujarat Tourism to promote destinations in the state and encouraging people of Gujarat to travel within the state for staycations are also commendable. Our occupancy has improved since January 2021 and a majority of our guests are residents of Gujarat itself. In view of the COVID-19 situation, adequate measures have also been put in place at Tent City to protect guests from the coronavirus.

Your distribution channel?

We are promoting through OTAs as well as travel agents for the distribution of the property. We have a travel agent base of more than 10,000. We send them regular emails, conduct Zoom meetings to promote our properties, call them on regular intervals, provide all the assistance with respect to content creation and promotion, give them a credit period so they can rotate the money, andeven offer convenience to cancel or modify date in case of a guest emergency.

How many nights do visitors usually stay?

Usually, guests stay for three nights. We have recently launched a three-night package and it is getting good response.Tourists can make this destination a multiple-day stay with many attractions opening up nearby. We are the only property in the entire vicinity providing single-window clearance with respect to food, accommodation, sightseeing (including tickets), and transportation with local guide. There are many attractions in the entire Kevadia region. It is almost impossible to cover it within two days.

Do you plan to expand?

Apart from Kevadia we have our presence in Rann of Kutch with 350 tents and Odisha with four locations having approximately 50 tents each. In Odisha, we are operating the eco-retreat tent city at Konark, Daringbadi, Satkosia and Hirakud. We are also seeing expansion opportunities in other states.