Hospitality majors see biz in wildlife lodges …..

Indian safari seems to have come of age, with Taj Hotels, ITC and Leisure Hotels scouting for properties to promote high-end tours

The Economic Time dt.3.07.08
Ravi Teja Sharma NEW DELHI

THE wildlife lodges segment has caught the fancy of hospitality companies. While Taj Safaris, a JV between Taj Hotels and CC Africa, has opened two luxury wildlife resorts in Madhya Pradesh, Leisure Hotels, which has a large presence in Uttarakhand, is now entering the wildlife lodges segment with a lodge to boot in Madhya Pradesh.
“We do have a mandate to add five new properties in the next three years,” says Taj Safaris director (operations) Mridula Tangirala, adding: “We are looking for new locations.” CC Africa marketing director Nicky Fitzgerald was recently reported as saying that his company was looking at setting up four new safari lodges in India—two in South India, one in Kaziranga (Assam) and another in Gir (Gujarat). These new lodges are expected to be fully operational by October 2011 though Taj Safaris did not confirm the locations.
While Taj Safaris gets its marketing strength from the Taj Hotels network, to promote its property in Corbett and the five new ones that are planned, Leisure Hotels has tied up with international tour operators. In 2007-08, these tie-ups helped it achieve a “good” occupancy at Corbett. Leisure Hotels’ second wildlife lodge will come up on 11 acres just outside Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh by the third quarter of 2009, says Leisure Hotels director (business development) Vibhas Prasad.
Mr Prasad says the company is looking at developing a separate brand for the wildlife lodges segment. “The concept is just right for the foreign FIT travelers, especially wildlife enthusiasts,” he explains. In 2007-08, the lodge occupancy rate was 55%, which, he says, is very good for this segment. “Even with 30-35% occupancy rate, we can make money since these lodges remain closed for five months of the year,” he adds. About 60% of its occupancy comes from inbound tourists.
The two Taj Safaris properties in Madhya Pradesh are doing extremely well and bookings for the coming season too look good, says Ms Tangirala, declining to divulge occupancy figures for the two properties. “We are looking at a similar positioning as Taj Mahua Kothi in Kanha, but will price it around $500-600 a night,” says Mr Prasad. To take forward the new branding for its wildlife products, the company has hired an exclusive architect for the wildlife circuit it intends to create. Apart from Kanha, Leisure Hotels is planning lodges at Pench, Bandhavgarh, Corbett, Rajaji National Park and Pilibhit in UP, right on the border of Nepal. With Nepal getting back on track, the idea is to create a circuit which would include the national parks of Nepal as well.
Fortune Park Hotels, a subsidiary of ITC Ltd, too is planning to enter the wildlife lodges segment. A new brand called Fortune Adventure has already been created, said Fortune Park Hotels president Suresh Kumar and “at the moment, we are scouting properties for management deals”. Fortune Adventure will be looking at creating a cluster or a circuit of wildlife lodges. “Pricing, of course, will depend on location of the property,” said Mr Kumar.
In the recent past, the ministry of tourism has been seen as promoting high-end luxury tourism. The growth in the high-end wildlife lodges seems to fit this bill perfectly. Some of the other high-end luxury wildlife lodges are the The Oberoi Vanyavilas and Aman-i-khas at Ranthambore.