The approvals for 51 hotel projects in south India are in various stages and are likely to be completed in the next three years. Also, the average return on hotel rooms has risen by 37.5 per cent to Rs 3,200 in the last one year.

Speaking to mediapersons after the 53rd annual general meeting of SIHRA, M P Purushothaman, president of the South India Hotels and Restaurants Association, said: "About four hotel projects with foreign collaborations are in the pipeline. On an average, the investment on these upcoming hotel projects is expected to be close to Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) for a single room."

Chennai will have four hotels, Pondicherry will have two, while Andhra Pradesh will have seven hotels. Kerala will have the maximum new hotels with 19 under implementation. The remaining hotels will be smaller ones in tier-II cities, he said.

Nataraajan, chief executive officer of GRT Hotels and Resorts, said that it was the three-star category hotels that were rapidly growing.

Of the 97 hotels classified in south India in 2003-04, most of them were three-star hotels numbering 51. While two-star hotels come in second at 26, there were only two hotels in the five-star deluxe category and four hotels in the five-star category.

Though there was no import duty on foreign liquor, the state governments were considering transport licence for such liquor on a case-by-case basis, he added.

R Rangachari, secretary general, SIHRA, said that the tourism industry is estimated to grow by 40 per cent in the current year. Bangalore ranks first among the four cities in south India for the highest room occupancy and average returns on rooms.

The Tamil Nadu government is in talks with the Airport Authority of India for a separate counter for people visiting the state for health tourism, he added.