Karnataka invites global bids to ready Hampi master plan

Karnataka Tourism department has invited globally reputed tourism master planners to prepare a tourism development master plan for Hampi. Hampi is a World Heritage Site on the banks of the Tungabhadra river in Bellary district in north Karnataka.

The state department of tourism has published advertisements in leading newspapers and magazines across the world inviting applications from the tourism master planners. These planners are required to evaluate the existing development plans and develop a Hampi Tourism Development Master Plan.

The master plan will be a vision document for this UNESCO-recognised site and all the future development will be guided by it for the next 25 years.

As per the department's requirements, these master planners need to have prior experience, preferably at the international level, in preparing master plans for tourism-oriented heritage sites, including zoning, development of facilities among others.

Interested consultants are required to submit an expression of interest by April 10, with details of their experience, profile of team members and a one-page proposal on how the master plan will be developed.

Said Commissioner for Tourism G Kumar Naik: "We are inviting expressions of interest (EoI) from internationally acclaimed tourism master planners. Once we get EoIs we will shortlist the selected ones and finalise the bidders. We expect to complete the exercise in about three to four months and ready the master plan."

He said that the proposed master plan will be a permanent document for the development of Hampi and the Hampi Development Authority will incorporate it for the future development. The master plan will also help Karnataka attract more foreign and domestic tourists, he added.

In an effort to ensure sustainable and planned tourism development in the areas in and around Hampi, Karnataka Tourism department is planning to develop India's most ambitious heritage tourism project "" the Hampi Heritage Tourism City.

It will be complete with luxury, boutique and budget hotels and resorts, theme parks, ethnic villages, restaurants, entertainment centres, wayside amenities among others, Naik told Business Standard.

Hampi, famed for its beautiful architecture, is just an hour away by air from Bangalore. The Karnataka tourism department also plans to prepare similar master plans for other heritage places like Badami, Aihole and Pattadkal.