Karnataka - Mysore   

National meet on tourism from Thursday

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, FEB. 28. A national seminar on tourism to be held in Mysore on Thursday and Friday is expected to explore the opportunities to project the city, which is known for its rich resources in Ayurveda and Yoga, as a destination for health tourism among foreign tourists.

With health tourism, particularly Ayurveda and yoga, catching up among foreign tourists in recent times, experts in the tourism industry opine that Mysore should capitalise on this trend by highlighting its expertise in Ayurveda and yoga.

Already, hundreds of foreigners are undergoing yoga sessions in different places in the city under dozens of yoga teachers. People from different parts of the globe descend on Mysore year after year to participate in yoga classes.

Apart from foreigners who take up yoga to improve their health, a number of them undergo training sessions to become Yoga teachers themselves. "Some westerners undergo yoga courses here before returning to their home countries to teach yoga," a yoga exponent in the city said.

Ayurveda

The city is also home to the Indus Valley Ayurvedic Centre situated at the foot of the Chamundi Hills, which attracts visitors from overseas. The rich pool of Ayurveda practitioners in different parts of the city, many of whom prepare medicine from herbs to treat various ailments, can also be harnessed to project Mysore's expertise in Ayurveda.

"Ayurveda and Yoga are becoming popular in western countries. This opportunity should be utilised," said K.S. Nagapathi, organising secretary of the two-day national seminar titled "Tourism: opportunities and challenges" to be held at D. Banumaiah's College of Commerce and Arts, Mysore, in association with Rotary Mysore.

Mysore should have been one of the most desired tourist destinations of India.

"From the tourism point of view, Mysore has everything except a beach," Prof Nagapathi said. But Mysore has not been able to advertise its tourism potential properly, he regretted while emphasising the need for a discussion on strategies and policies adopted in this regard by the Government.

More than 400 delegates, including 100 persons from other States, will participate in the seminar to be held at the Jaganmohan Palace auditorium and take stock of the strategies and policies adopted by the Union and State governments to promote tourism in Mysore

`Mysore guide'

The president of Rotary Mysore, S. Mahalingaiah, said a "Mysore guide" containing tourist information about Mysore and surrounding places will be brought out. "The guide contains information on the historical aspects of the city, how to reach Mysore, maps and other necessary details," he said.

The Minister for Tourism, D.T. Jayakumar, will inaugurate the seminar while the Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, C.S. Kedar, will deliver the keynote address.

The valedictory address will be delivered by the Tourism Commissioner and Managing Director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), Mahendra Jain, on March 4. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K. Rahman Khan, and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), R.M. Ray, will be chief guests for the valedictory function.

Five sessions

Five technical sessions on different aspects of tourism will be held. Fifteen resource persons will present their views during the sessions. "A panel discussion on tourism in Mysore will be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, G. Kumar Naik," the principal of D. Banumaiah's College of Commerce, M.L. Basavaraju, said.

The objective of the seminar is also to assess the present situation of the tourism industry in the country with special reference to Karnataka, to evaluate the potential of the industry to generate employment, and to suggest measures at the strategy and policy level for optimum exploitation of the tourism potential.

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