Next time you arrive at a religious hot spot in quest for cosmic relief, your deliverance could come at a shopping mall. After hospitality majors, real estate companies are now setting their sights on major pilgrimages in the country. Chennai-based Marg Construction is planning to set up a mall in the temple town of Tirupati, which will be the first-of-a-kind in India.
Other construction majors are also mulling malls and shopping centres at religious hot spots lakhs of devotees throng every month.
About two crore pilgrims visit Tirupati every year. ?Devotees visit Tirupati on a daily basis. Most devotees stay there for at least a day. Moreover, many of them are not sure when they would get a darshan. By having a mall, they can be assured of a good shopping experience,? says Shankar Naganathan, CEO, real estate (commercial), Marg Constructions.
The area of the mall would be above four-lakh sq ft. The mall would sell items such as watches, fashion jewellery, perfumes and gift items. Naganathan said his company wanted to target the impulsive consumer. The revenue model would be lease-driven.
Hotel chains have targeted religious destinations. Fortune Park Hotels, a subsidiary of ITC Ltd, has a presence in Tirupati. Similarly, Ginger Hotels, a Tata venture, is present in Haridwar.