'Real estate curbs stall tourism in India'

Tourism in India can grow by 50-100 per cent annually provided the curbs on foreign direct investment in real estate and infrastructure projects are removed, according to Mohammed Dadabhai, chairman of Bahrain-based Dadabhai Group of Companies.

"India has huge potential for growth in tourism and if it sets a target of 4-5 million tourists a year, it will be undermining its potential," Dadabhai said.

"Post 9/11 Gulf countries are shifting their investments out of Europe and America and are looking for alternatives in the East. India is ideally poised to cash in on this opportunity and it should help its cause by allowing FDI in these sectors," he added.

He cited the example of Dubai-based Emaar Group, which recently started an integrated township project in Hyderabad with an investment in excess of  $100 million (about Rs 458 crore).

"Emaar is just an example of the might of the companies in the Gulf. We have set no upper limits for investment as money is not a restriction for us," Dadabhai said.

Dadabhai company is interested in setting up a chain of service apartments in the country but he feels that the red tape has to be cut to create a conducive atmosphere for investment.

"India should try and get its act together in putting in place proper infrastructure as that will accentuate tourist inflow. Service apartments is one area that has not been explored here and as the number of foreign tourists increases there will be a huge demand for them," he said.