Other than a few spots like Mysore Palace, Hampi and Kodagu, Karnataka’s tourism potential is yet to be met. Towards this, the Karnataka government has laid special emphasis on the tourism sector at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) being held in Bangalore. As per estimates, around 37 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) totaling several thousands of crores for the tourism sector are expected to be signed on Friday.
Some of the significant projects expected to come up in the tourism sector in the state include a Hampi heritage centre of Rs 750 crore, a health and wellness city with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, eco parks at several locations totaling Rs 1,000 crore, a film city of Rs 500 crore and a MICE centre of Rs 1,050 crore.
“We expect to sign MoUs for projects in hospitality, theme parks and wellness centres,” said K Viswanatha Reddy, director-tourism, department of tourism, Government of Karnataka. The state is working on fast clearance of projects and said that a land bank of around 3,000 acres owned by both government and private owners was earmarked for tourism initiatives.
Janardhana Reddy, minister of tourism, Karnataka, said the government’s heli tourism project was in the process of taking off with the first contract being offered to a company — Oasis.This would be the first heli tourism project in India, according to him.
The government is also planning other initiatives like increasing the number of helipads in the state, setting up a tourism training centre in Hassan, an aqua mineral park and an 18-hole golf course in Mangalore. In Bangalore, around 300 acres of land have been earmarked in Devanahalli for tourism-related activities for which Reddy said tenders inviting companies would soon be out. The government is also looking at caravan tourism to promote wildlife tourism. It has received a few proposals from interested parties in this regard.
At the meet, Yes Bank unveiled its research report titled ‘Karnataka Tourism - Opportunities and Challenges’. The report says that there were approximately 32.95 million domestic tourists in 2009. It is estimated that Karnataka can expect around 62 million and 0.70 million domestic and foreign tourists respectively in the year 2015.
“It is estimated that in the year 2015, tourists would spend approximately Rs 15,000 crore in Karnataka. This increased inflow needs to be matched by supporting infrastructure, both from the public and private sector. We could expect a daily demand of 30,137 starred rooms in the year,” said Tushar Pandey, executive vice president and country head, strategic initiatives and advisory - government, Yes Bank.
