By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India, part of the Mahindra Group, is planning major expansion in Kerala, including developing a brand new resort in Wayanad district and increasing the number of its home stays to 150 by the year-end, a top official said.
Declining to reveal the investment details of the resort project in Wayanad in northern Kerala, Mahindra Holidays managing director Ramesh Ramnathan told IANS on phone from Chennai that the project was still on the drawing board.
The company will also develop 50 cottages at their backwater retreat resort in Kollam, which was taken over from a private party 18 months back.
“The Kollam property right now has 23 cottages and we plan to invest Rs.30 crore as part of our expansion and it would be completed later this year,” Ramnathan said.
In October 2008, Mahindra Holidays took over another property, which has 34 cottages, from the Taj group in Thekkady in Idukki district and renamed it as Tusker Trail.
At present, the company’s total investment in Kerala’s tourism sector stands around Rs.150 crore.
The company has also entered into a tie-up with the Kerala Tourism Department for promoting home stays.
“By the end of this year, the total number of home stays will be 150. We will charge a nominal fee for these home stays,” Ramnathan said.