ALL SMILES: Actor Vasundara Das (right) at Tourism Run organised by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation in front of the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on Wednesday to mark World Tourism Day - 2006. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: To attract international tourists and create a "brand" for Bangalore, the Department of Tourism is planning to build an international convention centre near the International Airport in Devanahalli.

This centre, with a seating capacity of 5,000 and hotel accommodation for 3,000 tourists, has been planned to attract the corporate world and promote meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism, Tourism Commissioner G. Kumar Naik said here on Wednesday.

Mr. Naik told The Hindu that tenders for the centre had been called and several big construction companies had applied. "We will soon evaluate the tenders and finalise the work orders," he said.

He said the department was working out strategies to promote medical tourism in a big way. The construction industry, hospitality sector and medical fraternity would work together for this project. Private hoteliers, travel agents, 13 star hotels and companies such as Tata, Reliance, and L and T had already signed for this programme, he said.

The department had tied-up with international brands such as Hilton, Taj, Intercontinental and a few leading European hotels and brands as well, Mr. Naik said.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the department organised a "Tourism Run" on Wednesday. Over 1,000 students from 20 colleges and Kannada cine stars Upendra, Bhavana, Anu Prabhakar and Vasundara Das, who is the brand ambassador for Karnataka Tourism, participated in the run, which was flagged off by Tourism Minister B. Sreeramulu in front of Vidhana Soudha.

Later, these students, led by senior officials from the department, cleared plastic waste in Cubbon Park. To mark the occasion, the department organised slogan writing, photography, print advertisement, television commercial and sand sculpture contests and a cultural programme for students.

Mr. Naik said over 200 students participated in these contests. Students of Adarsha College helped the department organise the cultural programme, in which 15 colleges participated, Mr. Naik added.

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