Tourist Pickings

Tourist Pickings Hansavivek ITC, formerly India Tobacco, is diversifying its activities into the hotel and marine products businesses. It has obtained necessary government clearance for the establishment of hotels at Agra, Madras and Delhi. The hotel at Madras is at an advanced stage of completion and should be ready by the end of 1974. Land for the Agra hotel has been acquired and construction will commence soon. In Delhi, a good site has been located and design plans, etc, are in hand. The company expects to earn considerable foreign exchange and assist the growth of tourism by setting up these hotels. From a small beginning of Rs 73 lakhs in 1971-72, ITC raised its exports of marine products to Rs 430 lakhs in 1973-74. The company's plans for this business envisage the operation of a trawler fleet, the setting up of processing factories and cold storage facilities and exporting the finished products to sophisticated international markets like the USA, Japan, Western Europe and Australia. The company has received the licensing committee's approval for the .setting up of three processing plants and has also been given an allotment of trawlers which are expected to be imported in the near future. ITC's general exports cover a wide variety of products such as paper/board products, myrobalam, leather goods, bicycles and bicycle parts, garments as also cigarettes and manufactured and blended cut tobaccos. The company is recognised as an 'eligible export house'. The sister concern, India Leaf Tobacco Development, is the principal supplier of unmanufactured tobacco and has a substantial business in exports. During 1973-74, its exports amounted to about Rs 20 crores.