Darjeeling, May 2: Tea tourism in Assam and Darjeeling could receive a boost with ITC Hotels Limited showing a keen interest in promoting WelcomHeritage hotels in tea gardens.
The ITC Hotels Limited has four categories of hotels with the super deluxe hotels of the group carrying the ITC prefix and the five-star category carrying the brand name WelcomHotel.
These are further supported by two other categories ? WelcomHeritage and Fortune ? aimed at wooing the budget travellers.
Shona Adhikari, media consultant, ITC Hotels Limited, said: ?Groundwork has already started. We are looking into heritage structures, as these will be placed under the WelcomHeritage segment.?
At a function to mark the centenary celebrations of Fortune Resort Central in Darjeeling, Adhikari said they were also exploring the possibilities of branching out to places like Kalimpong, Siliguri and Sikkim.
?No tie-up has been finalised anywhere, yet,? she was quick to add.
The Fortune Central in Darjeeling was established in 1905 as an eight-room hotel. Though ITC Welcom Group took over its management in 1999, the hotel is the first among the ITC Fortune Category to celebrate its centenary in the country.
With ITC limiting itself to taking over palaces and havelis under the Heritage segment, its foray into tea-tourism could signal a new beginning for the tea industry. Even the state government has announced of a Rs 8-crore package for eight tea gardens in Darjeeling and the Dooars recently.
