NEW DELHI: Starting with a daily tariff of Rs 6 in 1903 at its first property in what was then Bombay, Tata Group‘s Taj Hotels has now become the first Indian hospitality company to touch a market cap of Rs 1 lakh crore. Oberoi Hotels is the second most valuable at about Rs 24,000 crore.
The post Covid travel boom is seeing desi sectoral players scale new valuation heights.India’s largest airline (by domestic market share) IndiGo had achieved that landmark last June – becoming the first desi airline to do so. IndiGo market cap could soon double as it is currently at over Rs 1.9 lakh crore.
“While it is a matter of pride for us at IHCL to reach this milestone, I firmly believe that the true potential of Indian tourism sector in general and our hospitality sector in particular, is yet to be reached. As a consequence of the government’s focus on infrastructure development especially trains, airports and highways, India is poised to emerge as one of the foremost destinations globally. The meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) segment will grow significantly for the country. Domestic tourism will keep growing by leaps and bounds. All in all, we are on the cusp of a major transformation of Indian tourism industry which will add to the country’s growth and create direct and indirect jobs and contribute much more to the GDP growth,” Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO of IHCL, told TOI.

IHCL reached the Rs 1 lakh crore landmark last week. The company has been adding hotels across India. Operating four brands — Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta and Gateway, — IHCL currently has a portfolio of 340 hotels including 112 under development globally across 130 locations in 13 countries across four continents. Incorporated by Tata Group founder Jamsetji Tata, its first hotel — The Taj Mahal Palace had opened in Bombay in 1903.
Oberoi Hotels parent EIH market cap is almost Rs 24,000 crore. ITC Hotels will be hived off from parent ITC. Apart from IndiGo, the two listed airlines are struggling to survive SpiceJet and Jet Airways that shut down in 2019.
Since mid 2022, airlines and hotels are going almost full despite unprecedented airfares and tariffs, respectively. As a result, IndiGo (the only profitable big Indian airline), hotel & other travel companies like online travel agencies have been posting record profits and revenues since then quarter after quarter.
The boom being seen by desi hotels is still mainly due to domestic travel as international inbound (of tourists, not NRIs or persons of Indian origin) is yet to recover to pre-Covid levels. Indian airlines are already operating close to capacity due to a large number of grounded aircraft (about 75 of IndiGo alone due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues); financially struggling airlines operating very few flights and collapsed carriers.
“In the next 1-2 years when hopefully most grounded planes of IndiGo are back in the air; it adds one plane a week as planned and Tata group’s Air India Group adds capacity along with newbie Akasa, airline capacity will be able to keep pace with the unprecedented growth in demand for flying,” said an airline official.