Jamshed Dobo in Calcutta on Tuesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta, Feb. 11: The Taj group’s 25 leisure properties in India are set to earn Rs 200 crore in revenues in the fiscal ending March 31, 2003. This represents a remarkable growth of 20 per cent over last year.

Jamshed S. Daboo, chief operating officer of the leisure hotels, said these properties were becoming extremely popular for conferences and holidays. “Conferences, this year, have gone up 30 per cent and holidays, about 20 per cent,” he said.

Daboo attributed the growth to the “special skills” that the group has developed to host conferences and entertain leisure travellers. The group had taken a series of initiatives to make these properties more attractive. “For instance, we have set up world class spas and exotic restaurants in all these hotels,” Daboo added.

To increase its reach, the group is planning to promote eco-tourism in the north-east and the Himalayan belt. The group is planning to set up small resorts in these regions.

“We are working on a business plan. There are no existing properties in these regions that we can buy out. So, if at all, these properties will have to be set up anew,” he said.