Chennai: Despite registering a negative growth in its turnover from its fair and transport divisions, the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) appears to have improved its performance compared to the previous years.
The state-owned enterprise has registered a gross profit of Rs 12.90 crore with a total turnover of Rs 102.80 crore during 2016 - 17. Unlike in the past, the TTDC has drastically reduced the expenditure that was otherwise incurred on 'special repairs' to its hotel chain across Tamil Nadu.
The reduction in the incidence of special repairs to the tune of Rs 3.51 crore has contributed towards improving the profitability of hotels and boathouses. The corporation has achieved a net profit of Rs 5.20 crore during 2016 - 17 compared to the net loss of Rs 1.53 crore during 2015 - 16 which was sustained mainly due to the charging of the expenditure of Rs 5.31 crore incurred on establishment of Tamil Nadu Maritime Heritage Museum as extraordinary expenditure, according to the TTDC's annual report for 2016 - 17 fiscal.
The turnover of the fair division has declined to Rs 4.46 crore while the income from the transport division got reduced to Rs 7.92 crore. The corporation's income from the lodging sector increased to Rs 21.50 crore and the turnover from the boating sector has been Rs 19.48 crore. The hotel division achieved a gross profit of '13.90 crore due to reduction in special repairs and increase in operating profits of the sector.
Interestingly, the TTDC's share of the income earned from ferry service (operated by Poompuhar Shipping Corporation Ltd) to the 133-feet high majestic Thiruvalluvar statue off the coast of Kanyakumari, has increased to '101.13 lakhs from '97.30 lakhs during the previous year.
