SIHRA urges Southern states of India to market destinations collectively

Southern India Hotel & Restaurant Association (SIHRA) recently hosted the two-day All India Convention of Hotels & Restaurants at Thiruvananthapuram. The convention was inaugurated by V S Achuthanandan, Chief Minister, Kerala and was attended by more than 350 delegates from across the country. During the convention, on behalf the Association M P Purushothaman, President, SIHRA proposed that the Southern states of India should complement each other and maximise exposure and revenue.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Purushothaman pleaded for lowering the tax regime on hotels and restaurants in Kerala. While asking for reduction in Luxury Tax from the current level of 15 per cent to ten per cent, Purushothaman also demanded that the bar licence fee at bars attached to hotels be treated ‘differently’ from standalone bars. He urged for industrial power tariff in hotels across India to make the investment more viable and urged the Kerala government to formulate investor-friendly policies to attract more investors in the mid-market hotels in the state to overcome room scarcity.