The Tourism Department has decided to promote water sports at 18 major reservoirs of Karnataka and allocate 388 acres for promoting business at tourist places on PPP model.
The government would showcase its tourism and business potential at tourist places during the two-day Dakshin Bharat Utsav 2024 to be held on June 15 and 16 at Palace Grounds here.
From five States
The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in collaboration with the Department of Tourism is holding the two-day event.
Investors, travel agencies and promoters of tourism of five southern States would participate in it, Minister for Tourism and Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil told reporters on Wednesday.
Water sports would be promoted at 18 reservoirs in 16 districts of south and north Karnataka. The monument adoption scheme too would be promoted during the summit. The State has more than 25,000 historical monuments and some of them are in a bad state.
Mr. Patil said 12 monuments were up for adoption under the scheme. Already, eight monuments in northern parts of the State had been adopted by private players.
Business activities would be promoted on 311 acres at tourist places such as Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal and other places in north Karnataka while 76 acres would be set aside for the same purpose at Belur-Halebid and Shravanabelagola.
Ropeway project
Work on the ropeway project at Nandi Hills, near Bengaluru, had commenced and it would be completed soon, the Minister said.
The utsav would provide a platform for stakeholders in tourism industries to network, collaborate, and forge partnerships for sustainable tourism development. The State would showcase its products and tourist destinations to investors, he said.
Many stakeholders from the travel and tourism sectors, particularly from SMEs, had expressed interest in signing MoU with the government to initiate investment activities, he said.
During roadshows in different parts of the State and outside, Mr. Patil said Expression of Interest or ₹500 crore had been received and “we are expecting another ₹500 crore investment during the event from SMEs”.
He said 40 locations had been identified for promotion of tourism in the coastal belt, which hitherto had largely been neglected.
No casinos
Mr. Patil said the department had no plans to introduce casinos in Karnataka.
“The State has no interest to promote casinos which will promote unethical activities in society.”
Published - June 12, 2024 09:13 pm IST
