Did you know that New Delhi, India's national Capital, ranked 11th in terms of hotel occupancy levels in 2003, while financial capital Mumbai ranked 7th and sun-and-sand tourism capital Goa 9th.

Smaller cities like Indore and Bhopal, and even a corporate backwater like Kolkata, were way up in the pecking order at 3rd, 6th and 5th positions, respectively.

It is understandable though that led by the infotech and knowledge business boom, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai were at the first, second and fourth slots.

But what is also surprising is that the growth in hotel occupancy has not come from international tourists but from domestic travellers.

Domestic guests accounted for 76.9 per cent of all guests signing into hotel rooms, of which the domestic business traveller sub-segment made up 37.7 per cent.

The ranking is based on a survey of the Indian hotel industry by The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India, in alliance with HVS International.

Commenting on the survey, a senior Taj group executive said: "The improved occupancy level in the smaller cities is due to increased domestic tourism activity apart from the small businessmen, while the clientele in the metros has largely been business travellers."

Bangalore, the IT capital of India, tops the pack with an occupancy rate of 72.4 per cent, followed by Hyderabad with 71.0 per cent.

Chennai, which has become a major centre for business process outsourcing operations of global corporations, had an occupancy rate of 63.9 per cent.

Foreign guests, surprisingly, made up only 22.2 per cent and 18.9 per cent, respectively, of the luxury and heritage hotels market, down from 34 per cent and 17.2 per cent a year ago.

Of the foreign visitors, the maximum numbers were from the UK at 16.3 per cent, followed by the US at 13.4 per cent and Germany at 8.1 per cent.

Last year has been a year of revival of sorts for the hotel industry in India in terms of occupancy levels.

Occupancy has been in the 50-60 per cent range across most hotels. This trend of demand for hotel rooms is expected to increase considering the bullishness in the economy.