| The demand comes in the wake of high prices paid by a couple of real estate developers in prime locations over the last year. |
| In 2006, real estate major DLF had purchased a plot of five acres for about Rs 200 crore for a Hilton hotel, while Dubai-based Emmar MGF bought a six acre plot for Rs 220 crore for a JW Marriott property on the Eastern Metrpolitan Bypass. |
| The federation wants real estate developers to remain out of the ambit of the hospitality industry. |
| Speaking at a press conference on the occasion of the curtain raiser ceremony for the 43rd annual convention of the FHRAI, Rajesh Mishra, president of the federation, said land scarcity had poised a serious threat to the mid-segment hospitality industry in the state. |
| "New Town alone is expected to cater to 15 lakh people in the future, but the government has plans for only two hotels in the area. Ideally, there should be not less than 15 budget hotels at New Town, " he said. |
| The federation has also demanded tax sops like reduction of value added tax on food served in hotels and restaurants from 12.5 per cent to four per cent . It also wants luxury tax to be scrapped for hotels with room rents as low as Rs 500. |
| "There are no tax holidays for the hospitality sector. It is not being granted the status of an industry. Also, the industry is being burdened with the incidence of double taxation," he said, adding, "the sector can generate huge amount of foreign exchange and employment to the state." |
| According to estimates by the FHRAI, West Bengal has a shortfall of 3,000 budget category rooms. The state at present has 6,700 rooms, with 1,260 in the budget category. |
| Nearly 1,000 rooms are expected to get added with four premium segment hotels""DLF-Hilton, Emmar JW Marriot, Radisson Fort and the Taj Group-- coming up in the next one or two years near Kolkata., according to Suborno Bose, technical advisor, FHRAI. |
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