The Himachal government has invited prominent hotel groups for setting up luxury five-star hotels in the state. At present, Oberoi Group, which was given a prime heritage property near Chharabra, 12 km from Shimla, is the only major international hotel chain having a luxury hotel in the state.

Some of the hotel chains, which have already responded to the offer included Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Blue Country Resorts and TATA Group.

Infrastructure companies like ICC Holding and Jaypee Group are also eager to invest in the hotel industry.

State Tourism Director Dr Arun Sharma said: "It was an open offer to some of the leading groups. We are overwhelmed by their response. The government will take the final decision on the proposals soon. The state needs to upgrade its tourism infrastructure and set up more five-star hotels."

Recently, non-availability of a five-star hotel at Dharamshala had hit headlines after the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association body requested for hosting an international cricket match there.

Now, with three Indian Premier League matches slated to be held in Dharamshala in April, the association has been struggling hard to meet requirements of a five-star hotel in the city for players and other cricket officials.

Meanwhile, the tourism department has sent a proposal to the government to hand over certain heritage structures in Shimla for tourism purposes.

These include US Club, recently vacated by the Public Works department, Winterfield and a site currently housing the office of the DIG South Range.

The proposals include conversion of the Winterfield building into a tourists' reception centre and utilising other sites as part of Shimla heritage walks.