The Karnataka government is planning two mega health and heritage tourism projects in the state which would attract investments worth Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore respectively. The government is also formulating a new tourism policy which is likely to get cabinet approval in the next 2-3 months to give boost to these projects.
Speaking to Business Standard after inaugurating Karnataka Tourism information and booking center at Tamil Nadu Tourism Complex in Chennai, Vinay Luthra, managing director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) said that the state government is formulating a tourism policy to promote medical and heritage tourism to attract foreign and domestic tourist.
In the policy a health city in 300 acre of land near Bangalore International Airport has been proposed.
The health city will have super-specialty hospitals for neurology, cardiology, rehabilitation centres for alcohol and drug addicts, Ayurveda hospital and hotels. The city will be developed through public private partnership (PPP) where the government will act as a facilitator and provide land while investment worth around Rs 1,000 crore is expected to come from private players.
The health city is likely to come up in the next 2-3 years, said Luthra. K Viswanatha Reddy, director, department of tourism said that the state has got an enormous potential to attract medical tourists from US and European countries. He noted, specialty treatment in India would cost only 30-35 per cent of what it costs in these countries.
According to ASSOCHAM, an industry body, India’s medical tourism sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30 per cent to become a Rs 9,500-crore industry by 2015.
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While a heart-valve replacement costs about $0.2 million (around Rs 1 crore) in the US, in India it can be done in $10,000 (around Rs 5 lakh) which also includes return airfare.
As part of promoting heritage tourism in the state, Reddy said, the government is planning to promote a project at Hampi, a famous heritage site in the state, in 235 acre land. The site will have a 5-star hotel with 200 rooms, budget hotel, restaurant, entertainment areas and other tourism related activities.
The project would attract investment worth Rs 800-1000 crore. While the government will be a facilitator investment will come from private developers, he said.
According to reports more than five million foreigners visited India in 2007, and out of these, at least, three million visited heritage sites in India especially the two southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which have rich heritage. The share of heritage tourism in the overall tourism figures in India, be it domestic or foreign travelers, is over 60 per cent.