Top hotel chains expanding in the North East
hotel chains are rushing to India’s Northeast—home to natural beauty, rich flora and fauna and diverse culture—to capture a fast-growing market for leisure and business travel.
Estimates shared by JLL with ET showed a sharp rise in branded new hotel signings in the Northeast in 2023 with about 1,230 keys signed, up from around 449 keys signed in 2022.
Guwahati—considered as the ‘Gateway to the Northeast’—was the most active market, with 1100 keys signed since 2018, followed by Gangtok at 690 keys and Shillong at 280 keys.
As per JLL, midscale and upscale segments held a more prominent share of new hotel signings in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in the region such as Jorhat, Tezpur, and Dibrugarh in the past few years.
“Northeast India is witnessing a boom in hotel supply on the back of infrastructure growth with better roads and new airports connecting Northeastern cities to the rest of India,” said Jaideep Dang, managing director, Hotels and Hospitality Group, India, JLL.
“We are seeing Northeast India on the travel itineraries of both leisure and business travellers. This has encouraged hotel investors to develop bigger and better hotels. Hotel operating companies are realising this, and are signing projects across categories,” he added.
Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL)—the operator of hotel brands like Taj, Vivanta and Ginger has a portfolio of 14 hotels in the Northeast, totalling more than 1,200 keys. This includes five properties under development.
The leading hotel chain is ‘well poised’ to double its
