The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Tourism all set to take off

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 21, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Tourism all set to take off

Staff Reporter

Heritage, medical and ecotourism will be thrust areas in new policy

The Government has sanctioned 20 helipads
Budget allocation for 2008-09 to be increased to Rs. 250 crore

For better access: Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure Development B. Sreeramulu launching a new-look website for Karnataka Tourism in Bangalore on Wednesday. Also seen is I.M. Vittala Murthy, Secretary, Information and Tourism.

Bangalore: Karnataka tourism is set for a radical makeover with lucrative areas of focus in its new tourism policy, heritage tourism schemes in the pipeline, as also provisions for chartered flights and helipads — with some assistance from a proposed Rs 100 crore increase in the next State budget allocation.

Heritage, medical and ecotourism will be thrust areas in new policy, which will be announced next week, said I.M. Vittala Murthy, Secretary, Tourism and Kannada and Culture, at the launch of a revamped Karnataka tourism website here on Wednesday.

Heritage tourism

A “heritage passport scheme” had been proposed in a meeting with the UNESCO and the Tourism Department on Tuesday, he said, to identify an itinerary of heritage sites for tourists.

The proposal stressed on the need for coordination between various departments, including Urban Development, Town Planning and Public Works for the holistic development of these sites, he said.

Besides Hampi and Belur, areas such as Hassan that had not received adequate attention would be included in the scheme, he said, adding that home-stays will receive special investments.

Twenty helipads have been sanctioned by the Government at Hampi, Badami, Chikmagalur, Madikeri and Chitradurga, among other destinations.

Three helipads in Bangalore have been sanctioned — including at Electronics City and in Peenya.

Six more are in the pipeline, he said.

Tourism Minister B. Sreeramulu said that the budget allocation for 2008-09 would be increased to Rs. 250 crore, a marked raise from this year’s budget which was approximately Rs. 150 crore.

The new website, www.karnatakatourism.org, divided into themes such as heritage, wildlife and adventure will provide comprehensive travel information to tourists, and includes a travel diary, where visitors can share their travel experiences and upload pictures. Prizes will be given for the best entries every month for the next year.

Speaking of the need to establish an “online brand presence” for Karnataka tourism, Commissioner of Tourism G. Kumar Naik said: “We hope to do some commerce through our website too, and use it as an instrument to connect with private tourism stakeholders.”

In the next phase, the website will have the facility to make online bookings with hotels, and will also have an interactive map.

The website will soon be multilingual too.

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