Silver bed, gold taps in the bathroom, plates decorated for food also studded with gold, elephants and horses standing to welcome, a floating palace in the middle of a pond surrounded by mountains… These things that seem like fairy tales come true when you come to Rajasthan… and all this is available in the best hotels of Asia or the world present here. As the number of tourists is increasing in Rajasthan, the number of such royal hotels in the state is also increasing. After the year 2021, the number of 5-star hotels in Rajasthan has doubled. The interesting thing is that out of the business of 8 thousand crores in the hotel industry in Rajasthan last year, 4 thousand crores have been given by these 5 star and heritage hotels. There are a total of 17250 hotels in Rajasthan, while the number of these luxury hotels is only 650. (Yesterday you read – Jodhpur-Udaipur not in top-10 in terms of tourists in Rajasthan: This year 20 crore tourists will come, one tourist will provide employment to 13 people) A new tourism season has started in Rajasthan. Seeing the increasing love of tourists for luxury hotels, many more such big hotels are taking shape. Experts believe that due to this, the business of the hotel industry is likely to increase manifold in the next five years. About 15 big hotels are going to start soon in Jaipur, while 10 projects of 4 and 5 star hotels are proposed in Pushkar, Ajmer. Many new hotels are also going to be built in Udaipur. Big hotel projects are also planned around Ranthambore in Sawai Madhopur. What do the changing trends of the hotel industry in Rajasthan say, why are these unique in the world, why do celebrities from Priyanka Chopra to Hollywood like to get married here, how is the response this year? Read in the second part of the special series of tourism season…. First read about 6 unique hotels of the world located in Rajasthan… The growth of the hotel industry in Rajasthan can also be assessed from the fact that more than 4 thousand hotels have increased here in five years. Not only this, options like home stay and guest house are also available for tourists when the hotels are full. The interesting fact is that 50% of the business of the hotel industry is done only by 5 star and heritage hotels, while out of the total 17250 hotels in Rajasthan, their number is only 650 i.e. (3.76%). Experts estimate that room booking in hotels will be at peak in the coming few months. This year the business of the hotel industry can reach Rs 9000 crore. According to this, the business of the hotel industry in Rajasthan will more than double in five years. According to Hussain Khan, President of Hotel Federation of Rajasthan, in the financial year 2022, the hotel industry generated GST of Rs 250 crore, which increased to Rs 450 crore in 2023. Currently GST is 12%, but if the hotel room rent is more than Rs 5,000, it becomes 18%. There are about 30% hotels whose monthly sales are less than Rs 20 lakhs, they do not need to take GST number. This year, a business of about 9000 crores is expected. However, Hussain Khan says that this is only an estimate. The real picture will be clear only after March. 4 big events this year, 90% hotels booked
A new tourism season has started in Rajasthan. Wedding season will also start from next month, i.e. wedding shehnai will start. Mega events like Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit in December, Jaipur Literature Festival in February and IIFA Awards for the first time in Rajasthan in March are going to be held. Millions of people including tourists, writers, actors, film makers, philosophers, businessmen, politicians from the country and abroad will come to Rajasthan. They will travel. They will stay in the hotels here. This will give a boom to the hotel industry. According to experts associated with the hotel industry, in November and December, tourist room bookings in hotels will be almost 100 percent. Not only this, about 90 percent of hotels are already booked on all big festivals. It is difficult to get a room in a hotel in November-December. Senior Vice President of Hotel Federation of Rajasthan, Ranvijay Singh says that this time there is bumper booking on all big festivals from November to March. About 90 percent of hotels are already booked on all big festivals. If we talk about tourist bookings in hotels, then this time the bookings can be on an average 70 to 72 percent till March. There has been 50 to 55 percent occupancy in October. Bookings will be almost 100 percent in November and December, because this is the peak of the season. It starts declining from January to March. Hotel businessmen say that it is almost impossible to get a room in a hotel during Christmas and New Year from 20 December to 7 January. Hotels in Jaipur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer are already full for the new year since two months ago, while bulk booking is going on in other places as well. 50 percent of the total business comes from 5 star and heritage hotels. 80 percent of tourist bookings are done in budget hotels. Only 5 percent make bookings in 5 star and heritage hotels. These bookings are especially for weddings, business meetings, conclaves and international mega events. However, in terms of business, heritage and 5 star hotels are on top. President of Hotel Federation of Rajasthan, Hussain Khan says that 50 percent of the business of the hotel industry in Rajasthan comes from these 5 star and heritage hotels. The remaining 50 percent business comes from 3-4 star and budget hotels. According to the Hotel Federation of Rajasthan, only those hotels built before the year 1951 are given the certificate of heritage hotel category by the government. For this, it is necessary to fulfill some criteria. The number of such hotels in Rajasthan is only 1 to 2 percent. Hotels fix 100 days of the year for weddings
According to event guru Arshad Khan, this year Rajasthan will see a boom in destination weddings. Three, four and five star hotels of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Pushkar are fully booked for the next five months. Bookings in hotels have increased during Sawan. In the wedding season, especially during Sawan, tourists face difficulty in getting rooms due to the hotel rooms being blocked. Now hotels have fixed 100 days of the year for weddings only. 3 star and 4 star hotels charge 60 to 80 lakh rupees including 80 to 100 rooms and food for three-day wedding events. Hotel industry makes huge profits from weddings
Arshad Khan says that in the last decade, the focus of the hotel industry has shifted from tourists to weddings. While foreign tourists used to book a limited number of rooms, more than 100 rooms are being booked simultaneously for weddings, that too for two to three days. Due to this, the revenue of hotels has increased manifold. For example, a room which was available to a foreign tourist for 5-6 thousand rupees, is being booked for 10-12 thousand rupees in weddings. The destination weddings and event industry related to the tourism sector in Rajasthan is worth about 1 lakh crore. It is growing at the rate of 15% every year. It includes sectors like food, hotels, jewellery, events, tour and travels. However, the number of tourists from October to March boosts the hotel industry. When the number of tourists increased, the hotel industry got growth. Hotel Federation of Rajasthan President Hussain Khan says that till 2016, about 4.50 crore tourists used to come to Rajasthan. In 2019, for the first time, this figure crossed 5 crore. In 2023, this figure crossed 18 crore. This has also given growth to the hotel industry. Wedding events will give a 15% jump in the sector
Hotel Federation of Rajasthan Senior Vice President Ranvijay Singh says that after the Corona epidemic, the trend of exploring new destinations among the youth has also increased. This trend has brought business to hotels even in the off-season. Tourism has got further strength with the opening of a chain of luxury hotels in major cities including Jaipur. According to Ranvijay Singh, this year weddings and related events are sure to give a jump of 10 to 15% in the hospitality sector. Bookings in hotels for weddings have been completed for March-April. Category wise growth expected in hotels this year 5 star hotels 4 star hotels 3 star hotels Heritage hotels Budget hotels Home stays are becoming options
Hotel Federation of Rajasthan Senior Vice President Ranvijay Singh says that the government has also been promoting home stay tourism for the last few years. For this, the government implemented the Rajasthan Home Stay Scheme in 2021. Earlier, it had only paying guest scheme, which was limited to 5 rooms. In the new policy, it has been increased to 20 rooms under the prescribed rules. Currently, more than 100 registrations have been done in the guest house scheme. Talking about the whole of Rajasthan, more than 1000 homestays are registered with a limit of 5 rooms. Their number is increasing every year. In Rajasthan, the daily rent of a room in homestay and guest house ranges from Rs 1000 to Rs 6000. About 5000 rooms are available in homestays across Rajasthan. This growing network of homestays gives tourists an excellent option to experience local culture, traditions and rural life. Government is promoting village tourism
The government has promoted rural tourism to stop the migration from villages to cities for employment. Under the new tourism policy 2020, 150 to 200 units have been registered in the rural tourism policy. Under this, the objective is to provide employment to the youth of the village through guest houses, homestays and rural tourism in villages. This scheme, which started from November 2022, includes rural guest houses, agricultural tourism, paying guests, camping sites and caravan parks in rural areas. For village tourism, Tahla Garh, Sariska, Sena village of Jawai, Devmali village of Beawar and Abhaneri near Dausa have become hotspots for tourists for the last two-three years. Here the room rent starts from Rs 1000, which reaches 4 to 5 thousand in peak season. There was a setback in Covid, made a comeback
Hotel Federation of Rajasthan President Hussain Khan said – In the last five years in Rajasthan, the number of hotels in many districts has increased by 50 percent. In areas like Sikar, Jhunjhunu, there were not even 50 hotels three years ago. Now there are about 250 small and big hotels there. Between 2019 and 2021, 10 percent of the hotels were on the verge of being sold. According to event industry expert Arshad Khan, around 15 big hotels are going to start soon near Kukas in Jaipur, while 10 projects of 4 and 5 star hotels are proposed in Pushkar, Ajmer.
