HOSPITALITY

In 1995, KGC entered the Hospitality industry by building its first hotel in Kerala. This decision was not arrived at frivolously. After careful consideration and extensive market research it was decided that it was a sound investment for KGC. Hotels are not considered a low-cost investment, however, the return on investment (ROI) can be staggering.

KGC identified the following list of benefits:

• The hospitality sector comprises one of the world’s fastest-growing businesses, employing one in ten people worldwide.
• The hospitality sector demands a variety of suppliers.
• Food, beverages and retail stores provide other modes of revenue for hoteliers and opportunities for other businesses.
• According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, tourism is currently the third largest retail industry, behind automotive and food stores.
• Rapid growth of Indian tourism and the hospitality industry.
• The vast contribution of the tourism and hospitality to the Indian economy.

Currently, KGC owns two hotels, Kanoos Residency ( Rated #1 on www.tripadvisor.com) & Kanoos East Fort Resort. KGC has identified the hospitality industry and tourism as areas for good growth and targets these industries as investments over the next ten years. Customers love staying at our hotels because they feel like they are at due to our customer service being paramount to the organization. Your inclination is our command.

Tourism
As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall, moving up three places on the list of the world's attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna and strong creative industries in the country. India was ranked 37th for its air transport network. The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019.

Contribution to the economy
Combining unparalleled growth prospects and unlimited business potential, the industry is certainly on the foyer towards being a key player in the nation's changing face. Furthermore, banking on the government's initiative of upgrading and expanding the country's infrastructure like airports, national highways etc., the tourism and hospitality industry is bound to get a bounce in its growth.

The hotel and tourism industries contribution to the Indian economy by way of foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows were pegged at US$ 2.1 billion from April 2000 to March 2010, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

According to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 brought out by the World Economic Forum, the contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be at US$ 187.3 billion by 2019. The report also states that real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to achieve an average of 7.7 percent per annum over the next 10 years. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate US$ 51.4 billion (nominal terms) by 2019. Furthermore, the sector which accounted for 6.4 percent of total employment in 2009 is estimated to rise to 7.2 percent of total employment by 2019.

KGC has strategic plans to open more locations in India and targets doubling its locations by 2015 and tripling by 2020.