Radisson Hotel Group remains on track to achieve its 500 hotels target in India by 2030, with the country emerging as one of the company's strategic global growth engines. According to Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director & COO, South Asia, the company is betting on emerging urban hubs, regional towns, religious tourism destinations and hotel conversions to drive its next phase of expansion. As reported by PTI, India has evolved from being an important market to becoming one of Radisson Hotel Group's strategic growth engines globally.
In the first half of 2026 alone, Radisson signed 18 hotels and opened 4 properties, taking its development pipeline to 98 hotels and operational portfolio to 142 hotels across 86 cities. According to Sharma's interview with PTI, the company expects faster conversion of its hotel pipeline into operational properties over the next two years while expanding deeper into Tier II, III and IV markets. The company's India strategy focuses on execution with investors expecting three key milestones: accelerated pipeline conversion, deeper penetration into high-growth markets, and continued diversification across business destinations, leisure hubs and emerging religious tourism markets.
Radisson is increasingly moving beyond traditional gateway cities into emerging commercial centres, industrial hubs, leisure destinations and pilgrimage centres. As reported by PTI, more than half of Radisson's India portfolio is already located in Tier II and III markets, giving the company a differentiated growth platform as demand increasingly shifts beyond Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The company is building a portfolio that mirrors India's evolving travel landscape from emerging commercial and industrial centres such as Rajkot and Jamshedpur to gateway markets like Siliguri, leisure destinations such as Kasauli and Gopalpur, and high-potential spiritual destinations like Nathdwara and Prayagraj. According to Sharma, improving infrastructure, regional air connectivity, industrial investment and rising domestic travel are reshaping India's hospitality landscape.
Radisson will continue pursuing an asset-light strategy with management contracts remaining its preferred operating model, while hotel conversions are becoming increasingly important for growth. According to Sharma's statements to PTI, the company has not witnessed any significant impact on bookings due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia and higher aviation costs. He reiterated that India's hospitality market remains largely insulated because of strong domestic demand base, with the industry witnessing healthy normalisation after record occupancies in the immediate post-pandemic period rather than any slowdown. Sharma emphasized that companies are becoming more disciplined in travel spending while maintaining travel levels, with travel decisions today being more outcome-driven, focusing on productivity, flexibility and value.
Sharma identified Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh as states where improving air connectivity, expanding highway networks and government investments are reshaping travel demand. He emphasized that the strongest incremental opportunity currently lies in the convergence of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), destination weddings and religious tourism. The next phase of hospitality growth will increasingly be driven by these emerging destinations rather than traditional gateway metros, with companies becoming more disciplined in travel spending while maintaining travel levels.
