India@FDI Magazine

As Ease of doing
business in India
improves genuinely,
it will usher in new
investments into
the country
Arrive in style at the grand Porte Cochere
of The Leela Palace, New Delhi, where
statues of two white elephants greet you
rank among all hotels in the world. Conde Naste Traveller
magazine had earlier described the Leela Palace hotel in
Bangalore as among the best overseas hotels in the world.
The group operates three properties in Delhi including the
260-room Leela Palace, the 400-room Leela Gurgaon and the
480-room Leela Convention Hotel in east Delhi.
According to Mr Kaul, 80 per cent of the clients at Gurgaon
are from the corporate sector. And the convention hotel has
some of the largest facilities including a 30,000 sq ft banquet
hall, where 4,000 guests can be seated for a convention.
Besides the national capital, Leela operates luxury hotels
in seven other cities including Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai,
Goa, Kochi, Kovalam and Udaipur.
Referring to the 350-room Leela Palace Hotel in Bangalore,
Mr Kaul says it attracts a lot of Arab travellers who visit the
city for medical purposes. It is also a major IT and commercial
hub, attracting business visitors in large numbers.
The group is also involved in developing a hotel in Agra,
almost facing the Taj Mahal, with a Qatari partner. Its second
hotel in Bangalore is also being developed and a palace hotel
in Jaipur is also coming up.
About 75 per cent of its guests in these properties are
international visitors, notes Mr Kaul.
And as India’s tourism sector – including business tourism
– continues to boom, the hotels industry expects enormous
growth over the coming years.
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