The tourism industry is finally seeing more traction on the back of the country witnessing an ease in the lockdown restrictions, due to which Lemon Tree’s stock gained 5 percent this week. The stock is currently trading at Rs 45.20 on the NSE.

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Speaking in an interview with CNBC-TV18, Patanjali Keswani, Chairman and Managing Director at Lemon Tree Hotels, shared his views while mentioning that holiday destinations are seeing a big surge in visitors and there is near full occupancy at these hotel properties.

By the third week of June, there was a noticeable pick up in occupancy. Without giving any guidance, the occupancy is now north of 50 percent, he said.

So, July itself has seen revenue growth of 70 percent over previous month, he added.

“It is looking very positive but the entire situation depends on the third wave,” he said. If the third wave is not too severe then he expects this trendline to continue.

“However, if the third wave is severe, then I expect there will be some kind of moderation from mid to end of August till perhaps September,” he shared.

About 80 percent of the company’s inventory comprises of business hotels, which are relatively doing very well, he stated.

“Our newly opened Aurika, which is a deluxe hotel in Udaipur, we are doing at 80-90 percent occupancy, not at a great rate, it is about Rs 8,000-10,000, but it is doing 80 percent occupancy, which is an amazing number for July,” he explained.

Goa too is showing positive trendline.

He also mentioned that the company may push tariffs higher by 15 percent.

When asked about debt in books, he mentioned that he is not too concerned about it. “I am not concerned about the debt, we are very comfortable,” he said.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video.

(Edited by : Dipika Ghosh)

First Published:Jul 7, 2021 1:15 PM IST