Karnataka hosts tourism investors meet

Gayatri Vijaykumar - Bangalore

In a bid to woo potential investors to the state, the department of tourism, Government of Karnataka conducted Momentum Karnataka 2008, India's first-ever investors meet at the Leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore. The meet saw potential investors representing some of the leading hospitality brands, looking at investing across the state. Speaking at the meet, IM Vittalamurthy, secretary to Government Kannada and Culture, Information and Tourism, Government of Karnataka said, "Tourism has been accorded top priority in Karnataka. Currently lack of facilities at destinations is a major concern. We would like to showcase investment opportunities to potential investors." According to him, the prime areas of focus for investment will be heritage tourism, eco tourism and coastal tourism.

The Government of Karnataka has formed a single clearance system through Udyog Mitra, the Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka (IDEK) and Karnataka Tourism in order to facilitate and guide tourism investors in the state. According to Vittalamurthy, the investment drive will be spread over six months in two phases of 90 days each. "During the first phase we will assess investor intentions and match them with the available land. The second phase of 90 days will focus on implementing the projects," explained Vittalamurthy. He added that around 300 blocks of land have been identified belonging to the government and private individuals, which could be converted into potential projects. "The department of tourism will facilitate interaction between interested investors and land owners. Government land will be made available at 50 percent of the market price for developing tourism projects," stated Vittalamurthy. As part of the state initiatives to develop coastal tourism, Sri M Maheshwara Rao, District Deputy Commissioner, Mangalore said that the state is undertaking improvement and development of road, rail and air connectivity. The state will also undertake the development of around five beaches and 380 eco tourism areas around Mangalore. For the development of eco tourism, Dr Sanjay Bijoor, IFS, special officer - Ecotourism, Government of Karnataka added that the prime focus would be to develop tourism outside the protected area. "We are awaiting the eco tourism policy of the Government of India so that we can formulate the state's eco tourism policy based on it. We would like to develop eco tourism activities outside the protected areas," he said.

As part of its increased focus on tourism, the DoT has also formulated a draft tourism policy for the period 2007-08 to 2011-12. The policy, according to the department aims to make tourism Karnataka's principal and largest economic activity as an employer, tax generator and as an engine of growth.