Hotel owners welcome CM's announcement to organise 'Delhi Shopping Festival'

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the room revenues and such steps from the government are welcome, Kapoor told PTI.Kejriwal announced on Wednesday that the national capital will host the Delhi Shopping Festival from January 28 to February 26 next year and it will be the countrys biggest such event.

Hotel owners across the national capital welcomed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's announcement on Wednesday of hosting the ''Delhi Shopping Festival'' and said it will boost business and tourism.

They also pointed out that Delhi serves as a transit destination for many tourists.

Kush Kapoor, CEO, Roseate Hotels and Resorts, said the ''Delhi Shopping Festival'' will have a positive impact on the city's tourism industry.

''We have seen how the Dubai Shopping Festival has put Dubai on the map of world travellers. Delhi, with its shopping malls, open-air markets, eateries, cafes and world-class hotels, has a lot to offer to tourists. Though it might be a little early to give the numbers, we definitely see occupancies and the room tariff spiralling during the period. The (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the room revenues and such steps from the government are welcome,'' Kapoor told PTI.

Kejriwal announced on Wednesday that the national capital will host the ''Delhi Shopping Festival'' from January 28 to February 26 next year and it will be the country's ''biggest'' such event. The festival will have guests from all over the country as well as abroad to experience Delhi, its culture, food and shopping.

Kapoor said Delhi is a global city and a shopping festival will further its lure. ''The shopping festival will have a positive impact on tourism in the city, both domestic and in-bound,'' he added.

Sanzeev Bhatia, vice-president and general manager, The Metropolitan Hotel and Spa, said the shopping festival will give a boost to the hospitality and tourism industry.

''It will definitely give a boost to tourism in Delhi, which is mostly used as a transit point by domestic tourists. It will also give the required exposure to our culture, arts and food. If such initiatives are taken frequently by the chief minister and Delhi Tourism, in addition to the promotions being done by the Ministry of Tourism, it will increase the flow of domestic as well as international tourists to the capital,'' Bhatia said.

While making the announcement, Kejriwal also said the city government is in talks with hotels and airlines to provide special packages to those who want to visit Delhi at the time of the shopping festival.

However, SpiceJet, Vistara, Go First, Air India, AirAsia India and IndiGo did not respond to PTI's queries regarding the matter.

Some hotel and travel agency owners said it would be too early to talk about the industry's response towards it and added that offering additional discounts or special packages will be difficult for the industry, which is still recuperating from the aftereffects of the Covid pandemic.

Vijay Tiwari, the owner of Shushant Travels and Hotels, said the industry is already grappling with the aftereffects of the Covid lockdown and hence, it will be hard for them to offer special discounts or packages to those visiting Delhi during the shopping festival.

''It looks like a move planned hurriedly. The government is yet to communicate with us about any request to provide special packages to those who want to visit Delhi at the time of the shopping festival. We are yet to recover our losses. So in that scenario, how can we offer special discounted packages?'' he asked.

Under its Rozgar Budget this year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had announced that it will organise the ''Delhi Shopping Festival'' and a wholesale shopping festival with an outlay of Rs 250 crore.

The festival will have exhibitions on spirituality, wellness, health and gaming, and several entertainment programmes, Kejriwal said. Artistes from the world over will come to the festival that will have 200 concerts and entertainment events over the 30 days.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)