Government to privatise eight loss-making ITDC hotels: Tourism Minister

Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma has said the Centre has decided to privatise eight loss-making hotels run by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), and added that it would not be wise to bear the burden of these loss-making units.

The minister, however, ruled out the possibility of selling off 'The Ashok', the flagship property of ITDC in the national capital, saying that attempts are being made to revive it and turn it into a profitable venture this year.

Sharma said that eight out of the 16 hotels are not in good shape and the government proposes to disinvest it. The formal process in this regard would begin within two months, he stated.

The ITDC hotels together incurred losses of about Rs. 15 crores, with The Ashok alone incurring a loss of around Rs. 13 crores in 2014-15.