International tourism expo in Mysore from today

A host of leading participants are drawn from international and domestic tour operators, travel agents, hotel organisations, including resorts and spas, airlines (both domestic and international), hospitals, investors and financial institutions, tourism boards from target countries and key personnel from IATA, TAAI, FHRAI, SIHRA, KPHRA.

KTF and media from India and abroad are participating in the two-day expo. The conference, scheduled to be inaugurated by chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, will also offer a food festival and cultural evening.

Briefing media on the tourism expo today, MCCI President H N Ramathirtha said the objectives of the conference was to showcase the potential of Karnataka tourism, spot new opportunities and areas of development; create public-private partnerships to remove infrastructure bottlenecks facing Karnataka tourism, and increase tourism's contribution to the state's economy by stimulating investment and employment.

It will also deliberate on the development of brand positioning of Karnataka around its strength - heritage, eco, coastal and health tourism - and address the critical factors including the environmental sustainability, stimulating private sector participation, augmenting accommodation capacity, developing the access infrastructure and the integrated circuits.

The conference will deliberate on the themes - a growth agenda for Karnataka tourism, investments in tourism infrastructure, formats for public participation, marketing Karnataka, Karnataka by air and road, challenge connectivity, Karnataka, a hub for health tourism, and benchmarking Karnataka, a global perspective, said FICCI senior assistant director Manish Mohan.

The conference will see participation of around 350 delegates from the tourism industry including some important foreign tour operators including those from Kuoni, Spain, Hong Thai Travel Service, Singapore, Singapore Airlines, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute, Thimbles Therapy, Discovery Networks India, TransIndus Ltd., London, Crossways Travels and Tours Inc from Canada, Serendipity Tours from South Africa, Singapore Tourism Board, and La Maison des Indes of France.

Karnataka is one of the top five states in attracting tourists. It ranks fourth in domestic tourists' arrival and fifth in foreign tourists' arrival in relation to other states.

Its share of international arrivals coming into India has increased from 4.03 per cent in 1991 to 15.7 per cent in 2004. Domestic tourist arrivals for 2005 are 246 lakh and international tourist arrivals are 5.45 lakh, said MCCI secretary A S Satish.

Mysore has been rightly chosen for the expo as it is known from centuries for its royal splendour and heritage.

It is becoming the most favoured destination for tourists across India and abroad alike, highlighting the need for the comprehensive development of the region to exploit the tourism potential in full, he added.