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NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 17:

        Mahindra Holidays and Resorts Limited (MHRL) has come out with a new product in leisure vacations called Zest that would offer short holidays for young metropolitans.

        The owner of life-time holiday brand, Club Mah-indra, the company has invested Rs 350-400 crore for the development of Zest, which was targeted for the age group of 26-39 years.

        Speaking at the comme-rcial launch of Zest on Wednesday, Arun Nanda, chairman, MHRL, said Zest was an ideal short break for young profess-ionals as the resorts were located at places which were easily accessible from metro cities.

        The first two Zest resorts would be operational at Ooty and Kodaikanal by the year end. Resorts were also being planned at Puducherry, Coorg, Chikmagalur and other locations across the country by the end of 2007.

        Zest offered membership for ten years, which included stay of 6 nights per year. The cost depen-ded on the season and varied between Rs 69,000 and Rs 1,09,000.

        'Zest is a novel concept from the leaders in vacation ownership in providing a perfect short holidays to its members. A product of Mahindra's rich experience in serving and fulfilling the expectations of customers for the past 10 years. Zest would redefine the rules of the vacation industry in its segment,' said Arun Nanda, chair-man, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts Ltd. Ramesh Ramanathan, managing director, MHRL, said Zest was aimed at the youth in metros, as 70 per cent of Indians were below the age of 35. Zest would offer a bouquet of resorts at destinations close to cities for a short breaks of young corporates, he said.

        Lot of activities were also planned at the resorts, even as the company aimed to expand its panel of vacation sites and stay-inns across the country. Zest was designed by IDEO, a consultant in cons-umer design, to provide a rare worklife balance for young executives who could head out of the city and catch up with life.

        MHRL is a subsidiary of $3 billion Mahindra group and being a leader in leisure resorts and vac-ation ownership, the com-pany through its flagship Club Mahindra provided its varied customers 15 five-star resorts of its own and through affiliations to over 4,000 leisure spots in the world.