Karnataka strive to be second best tourism hub in the country

S R Mahesh, Tourism and Sericulture Minister of Karnataka said that the state would take all the measures to develop the State as the second best tourist hub of the country.

He was speaking after inaugurating Travel log’18, a two-day National Seminar on ‘Tourism and the Digital Transformation,’ organized by the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Pooja Bhagavath Memorial Mahajana Education Center at Metagalli in Mysore.

As per records, the State has been attracting around 22 lakhs visitors – both foreign and domestic- every year.

“Karnataka State Government has been making all efforts to give boost to tourism. It will also strive to tap the tourism potentiality of the State to the maximum level”, said the minister.

The tourism turnover of the state was Rs 3,000 crore last year, but neighboring Tamil Nadu had recorded around 9,000 crore during the same period, which is thrice more than Karnataka.

The Minister said that the Government has been taking measures to improve the hospitality industry of the state.

“If a hotel is constructed, around 17 persons will get jobs in it. The State Government will give priority for such businesses, besides providing subsidies to unemployed youths for the purchase of cabs as part of promoting tourism and job creation activities,” added the minister.

The minister also said that the operators will reduce the flight tickets as low as possible, between Mysore and Bangalore during the Dasara season to attract more tourists to the heritage city.

The Mysore Palace will be illuminated throughout the week and the additional expenses incurred will be paid by the tourism department. Currently it is illuminated on weekends – Saturday and Sunday and some special occasions.

“Tourism Department should utilize modern technology for improvement of tourism economy. Youths should come forward to study the courses like Tourism and Hospitality Management, as there is plenty of job opportunities in this sector,” commented G T Devegowda,  State Higher Education and District Minister, while speaking on the occasion.

R Vasudevamurthy, Mahajana Education Society (MES) President; Vijayalakshmi Muralidhar, Secretary;  T Muralidhar Bhagavat, Vice-President and others dignitaries were also present in the inaugural function.