BENGALURU: While the decision to move Aero India out of Bengaluru has become a political hot potato with the Centre delaying announcing its decision, those in the city’s hospitality industry have their fingers crossed. If Aero India exits the city, the loss could be around Rs 500 crore, industry experts say.
The air show, which attracts a large section of foreign companies as well as top executives from the aerospace industry in the country, sees a flurry of activities for the hospitality sector every two years. “Hotel suites for the top-level executives who travel to Bengaluru are usually booked many months in advance as every top end hotel in Bengaluru has only a few suites to offer its discerning customers. This year, we kept getting a lot of enquiries for our larger rooms and suites until the confusion over shifting the venue started,” said the general manager of a hotel chain in the city.
A similar situation exists with the transportation industry. “We usually get reservation requests for the luxury cars in our fleet well in advance. This is done to ensure that there are no last moment cancellations or embarrassment when the top chiefs arrive,” said K Radhakrishna Holla, President of the Bengaluru Tourist Taxi Operators’ Association.
Holla’s organization recently submitted memorandums to this effect to the Defence Minister as well as the Chief Minister of Karnataka urging them to keep the air show in the city. State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa on Monday said Bengaluru air show will not be shifted to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. “All BJP MLAs and MPs from Karnataka have requested Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman not to shift the air show. She promised that it will not be moved out of Bengaluru,” he said.