ITDC for duty-free shops at SEZs
India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) will set up duty-free outlets at special economic zones (SEZs) and seaports.
By Gaurav Malani, TNN |
NEW DELHI: India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) will set up duty-free outlets at special economic zones (SEZs) and seaports. The public sector company has already obtained permission to set up such outlets at the Mundra SEZ and the ports at Kolkata as well as Haldia. ITDC would also bid for duty-free outlets at smaller airports, officials of the company said. The company, once the undisputed leader in India’s duty-free business, is looking at Pune, Nagpur, Mangalore, Calicut and Gaya airports. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is expected to invite tenders for operating duty-free outlets at these airports later this year. Duty-free space is expected to be made available at some other smaller airports next year and we will bid for them too, the officials said.
ITDC has teamed up with Aldeasa of Spain to launch duty-free outlets at the Mumbai airports. The 50:50 joint venture has signed an agreement with Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and the outlets are to be launched soon in a much bigger way than the ITDC outlets which are being run at the airport now.
Our aim is to re-capture our prime position in the duty-free business, the officials said. ITDC suffered a setback in this segment as private players have bagged the duty-free space available at the Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata airports. We may even go in for further international tie-ups for the duty-free business and spread our wings across the country, they added.
ITDC’s enthusiasm to claw back in the duty-free segment is partially due to the record profits the hotels division of the company. The buoyancy in the tourism and hospitality segments should be leveraged to rebuild the PSU’s business, officials feel. The morale of ITDC employees was down during the recent years on account divestment of a number of hotels including four in Delhi and apprehensions about loss of jobs. The situation has been reversed now and the company is on an expansion mode on the strength of growing revenue and profits. During the first quarter of the current financial year, for example, ITDC has posted a 139.65% increase in profit before tax to Rs 9.73 crore against compared to Rs 4.06 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. The hotels division of the company contributed Rs 7.42 crore to the profit, with Rs 6.09 crore coming from its flagship – the Delhi Ashok
ITDC has teamed up with Aldeasa of Spain to launch duty-free outlets at the Mumbai airports. The 50:50 joint venture has signed an agreement with Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and the outlets are to be launched soon in a much bigger way than the ITDC outlets which are being run at the airport now.
Our aim is to re-capture our prime position in the duty-free business, the officials said. ITDC suffered a setback in this segment as private players have bagged the duty-free space available at the Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata airports. We may even go in for further international tie-ups for the duty-free business and spread our wings across the country, they added.
ITDC’s enthusiasm to claw back in the duty-free segment is partially due to the record profits the hotels division of the company. The buoyancy in the tourism and hospitality segments should be leveraged to rebuild the PSU’s business, officials feel. The morale of ITDC employees was down during the recent years on account divestment of a number of hotels including four in Delhi and apprehensions about loss of jobs. The situation has been reversed now and the company is on an expansion mode on the strength of growing revenue and profits. During the first quarter of the current financial year, for example, ITDC has posted a 139.65% increase in profit before tax to Rs 9.73 crore against compared to Rs 4.06 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. The hotels division of the company contributed Rs 7.42 crore to the profit, with Rs 6.09 crore coming from its flagship – the Delhi Ashok
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