Avantika Shrivastava New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Hoping to attract a large share of foreign tourists who are expected to flock the country for the Commonwealth Games, owners of bed-and-breakfast establishments are offering an Indian home experience that the tourists may not get during a hotel stay. “I would rather call it a home stay rather than a Bed and Breakfast.
It”s not only about the commercial aspect. I give a lot of personal time including tips for sightseeing, shopping,” says Shalini Shamnath, the owner of a gold-starred B&B at Civil Lines.
She expects the Games to be the “cherry on the cake”. “I am sure that during the Games we will get better business.
Occupancy rate might even be 100 per cent during that time. We do expect better rates from what we normally charge,” she says.
Introduced in Delhi in 2007, the B&B concept aims at provising tourists a taste of authentic Indian culture in a clean and affordable setting. There are around 1,230 ”Gold” and ”Silver” starred rooms registered as on May 23, 2010 in Delhi while the Union Tourism Ministry estimates that there could be around 3,000 such units available for the Games.
Majority of them are located in the posh areas of Golf Links, Defence Colony, Nizamuddin, Jor Bagh, Vasant Kunj and Chanakyapuri. .