Mumbai : The Indian hotel industry is on its way to recovery as evident from a survey wherein 75% of the respondents said their business prospects would improve in the next six months.

"While nearly 40% of the participants said the current performance of their industry was moderately-to-substantially better than the last six months, 75% felt that the hotel industry's performance would improve in the next six months," a Ficci study said.

Although the mood among the hotel industry is "fairly buoyant," the degree of optimism differed from four-star and five-star categories. According to the survey, five-star hotels are witnessing an improvement in the business on account of an increase in the number of foreign tourists, given the signs of improvement in the global economy. The domestic corporate travel is showing revival signs.

Meanwhile, to increase revenue from the food & beverage section, The Federation of Hotels & Restaurants of India, the apex body of the hospitality industry, is planning discounts for customers who are accompanied by senior citizens. "The idea is to encourage families to bring along the elderly who are normally left at home while the others dine out," says Federation secretary Deepak Sharma. "We want to give it a try in the metros first, then we will extend it to the smaller cities," he said.