Aswathi Plantations Ltd is looking at exiting its Wayanad resort business for $10 million owing to poor returns, market sources said. Tranquil Resorts, owned by V K Rajaram of Aswathi Plantations, is spread over 400 acres in Wayanad district of Kerala, and was set up 1996 at the Kuppamudi coffee estate.
“The property has seen occupancy rates steadily falling over the last two years, and the management is looking at a sale in the near term. They are currently looking at private players in the resort business or hospitality management companies to evince interest in the property,” sources familiar with the development said. Rajaram did not respond to emailed questions on the sale plans.
It is understood that Aswathi Plantations has been considering a foray into the eco-tourism arena, as eco-hotels are becoming attractive for increasingly eco-conscious international travellers. “Ecotels are major draws for investors and use green options like solar power and biomass to generate their electricity. This is an area which the company is considering,” sources added.
Developed as a homestay destination, Tranquil Resorts has a 12-room cottage and tree house surrounded by lush forests. Bordering the Nilgiris and close to the Bandipur tiger reserve in Karnataka, the venture was set up in 1995 by V K Rajaram of Aswathi Plantations.
Homestays, a unique form of destination tourism, have developed since the mid-nineties and emerged as popular options with budget tourists from North America and Europe in search of a local touch to their experience of India, as well as cheap, clean accommodation and healthy, home-cooked food.
Kerala has emerged as India’s leading homestay destination and currently accounts for over 45 per cent of all bookings, according to industry figures. The state is targeting about 1,500 classified homestays with approximately 5,000 rooms by 2013.
At the corporate level, the homestay industry in India was pioneered in 1995 by the Bangalore-based Ramapuram Group at Coorg in Karnakata with its Orange County Resort.
