Courtyard by Marriott Aravali Resort Goes Upscale — India Report

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Hotel owner and developer Chalet Hotels is working to rebrand the Courtyard by Marriott Aravali Resort near Delhi into a Marriott property. 

In its latest earnings call, Chalet Hotels CEO Sanjay Sethi said that the resort which it acquired last year has been performing well. “It has had 15% growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth in this quarter, so it is trading well. Occupancies are up. The rates are up,” he said.

Courtyard by Marriott had opened in June 2022 and had positioned itself as a property ideal for weddings and meetings. The repositioning of the property is expected to take place over the next six months.

Weddings And Inbound Tourism: Sethi said that in the January-March quarter and the April-June quarter, the company sees the weddings segment being strong. 

“Last year, we did not have any weddings in the April to September period, but this year, we see significant weddings even in the quarter ending in June. The January to March quarter seems to be as good or better than last year, and therefore, we are about this quarter doing extremely well. We will, of course, make sure that we take on weddings in groups,” he said. 

He is also expecting a growth in the lagging Indian inbound tourism. “One major change that will happen in the coming year which will support inbound travel is the airport expansion in Mumbai. As the new airport opens in Navi Mumbai, the passenger traffic will split between the two airports.” Sethi said that a lot of international airlines were having trouble finding slots in Mumbai since Covid, which is expected to change with the new airport opening. 

This has come as Sethi is bullish on the future of the hotel industry in India. “The Indian hospitality sector continues to show resilience supported by steady economic growth, stable rate of inflation, and increasing demand for travel and tourism despite the state of global geopolitics. These trends create a favorable environment for the sector,” Sethi said. 

In the earnings call, Sethi said that the October-December quarter was the best-ever in the company’s history, as its revenue increased 22% year-on-year to INR 4.6 billion ($52.8 million). 

Japan Reports Surge in Arrivals from India

In 2024, 233,000 Indians visited Japan, a 40% increase from the previous year, according to data from Japan National Tourism Organization. The biggest factor behind this boom is the increased air connectivity making Japan more accessible than ever to Indian travelers. The winter 2024-25 schedule features 26 weekly direct flights connecting Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru to Japan.

This combined with promotional fares has improved the travel experience for Indians, Ryo Bunno, executive director at JNTO, Delhi office, told Skift. And where direct connectivity has not been possible, codeshare agreements have come in handy to connect Tier-2 Indian cities to Japan. Bunno said Japan would further look to increase connectivity between the two countries.

Last year, Japan also introduced e-Visas for Indian travellers.

What the Indian Budget Had in Store for the Tourism Sector

The Indian government announced the Union Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year on Saturday, bringing modest gains for certain sectors in tourism. While the global marketing budget for tourism, which the government slashed by 97% last year to INR 30 million ($361,000), remains unchanged, the government has increased the overall tourism budget by nearly 4% to INR 25.4 billion ($293 million).

Despite industry demands, the long-sought "industry status" for the sector remains unaddressed. However, signaling an intent to attract international tourists, the government has announced streamlined e-visa facilities and visa fee waivers for select tourist groups.

In a positive move, policymakers have proposed raising the tax collected at source (TCS) threshold on remittances under RBI’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) from INR 700,000 ($8074) to INR 1 million ($11,534). However, there is still no change in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system for the industry, despite continued appeals from hospitality, aviation, and online travel stakeholders.

Delhi Airport’s Non-Aero Activities Dominate Revenue

Delhi Airport reported a net income of INR 23.2 billion ($266 million) between April and December 2024. This was up more than 10% year on year, according to data shared by airport operator GMR Airports in its earnings report. 

During the same period, more than its net income was the revenue from the airport’s non-aero revenue: INR 24.2 billion ($277.7 million), 12% increase as compared to the previous year. This revenue accounted for nearly 60% of its gross income. 

Retail revenues formed 28% of the total non-aero revenues, and this segment increased by 13% year-on-year. Individually, the biggest increase in revenues was for the food and beverage segment, which increased by 23% as compared to the previous year. 

Air India Announces Interline Codeshare With Kenya Airways

Full-service airline Air India has entered into a codeshare agreement with Kenya Airlines, expanding their current interline agreement. The move is expected to improve connectivity between India and Africa. 

This will also allow passengers to travel to different destinations on a single ticket and a unified baggage system. The agreement will cover Kenya Airways’ twice-daily flights between Mumbai and Nairobi and Air India’s Delhi-Nairobi operations.

Railway Ministry’s Superapp Under Testing

The Indian railway ministry has released its superapp called ‘SwaRail’ on Google Play Store for testing. The app is meant to serve as a one-stop solution offering multiple public services to travelers. 

According to the railways, the app provides easy access to services like reserved and unreserved ticket bookings, platform and parcel bookings, train inquiries, PNR inquiries, and more.