Wyndham Hotel Group has signed an agreement with Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd of Bangalore, India, to develop 10 Ramada(R) hotels totaling at least 1,000 rooms in the Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtr, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Chender Baljee, Royal Orchid chairman, said his company would invest 5 billion Indian rupees, or about $100 million, to build four-star-quality Ramada hotels during the next three to four years.

Steven. A. Rudnitsky, Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive officer, said India represents a "significant, ongoing opportunity" for hotel development in the Asia-Pacific region. He said a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report indicates the India market will require up to 125,000 new hotel rooms in India during the next five years.

"With international tourism receipts of $5.7 billion and a record 3.9 million foreign visitors in 2005, India is critically important to our Asia-Pacific development plans," Rudnitsky said. "The agreement with Royal Orchid Hotels enables us to accelerate the expansion of our Ramada brand in the Indian market."