After Goa, Chandigarh emerging as a hospitality hub: Puneet Dhawan, Sr VP, Operations, Accor India & South Asia

Chandigarh: Chandigarh is fast emerging as a new hub of hospitality sector in India after Goa, said Puneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President, Operations, Accor India and South Asia, on Thursday at Novotel Chandigarh Tribune Chowk.

“Chandigarh being the gateway to Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, has good stopover stays, which is helping City Beautiful in becoming the next best hospitality hub after Goa,” said Dhawan.

Talking about Accor's expansion plans, he said, “We are increasing the footprint of Novotel hotels in India. We are coming up with Novotel New Delhi City Centre, Novotel Mumbai International Airport, Novotel Goa Panjim, Novotel Bhubaneswar and Novotel Bengaluru City Centre. These will be opened by 2023. We will also be unveiling  Novotel Amritsar which is under construction.”

He said that occupancy in the hotel industry is improving across India. "While occupancy was 50 per cent in August, in September the same has gone up to 60 per cent. What makes the Chandigarh market unique in the current scenario of pandemic is that room prices remain robust in the city, quite contrary to the national scene", added Dhawan.

“Novotel Chandigarh is the 21^st Novotel hotel in India, and the first one in  Punjab region. It is going to be an iconic centre of the hospitality industry in the North Indian belt,” said Dhawan during a select media interaction here, stating that thanks to its locational advantage, Chandigarh is fast emerging as a new hub of hospitality industry in the country.

“There are multiple factors which make Chandigarh an ideal centre of the hospitality sector. For one, it is the epicentre of socio and economic activities in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Secondly, Chandigarh in itself is a Union Territory and has an international airport also. People love nearby outings, when they come to this modern and well planned city,” added Dhawan.

Talking about Novotel Chandigarh, which is going to be formally unveiled on Friday, Dhawan said, “Novotel Chandigarh is located at the best place in the tricity. We are excited to serve the people of the region. I am quite confident that Novotel Chandigarh will further bolster the hospitality sector in the region.”

It is noteworthy that Accor SA is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest worldwide. Accor, the world-leading augmented hospitality group, has 53 hotels and resorts across India and Sri Lanka. This includes a network of 10 distinctive brands encompassing every segment - from its acclaimed luxury Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel brands; premium brands Pullman, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure; as well as the popular Novotel and Mercure midscale brands and the much-prized economy brands including ibis and ibis Styles.