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| Karnataka plans mega tourism projects |
| TE Narasimhan / Chennai Jun 11, 2009, 20:40 IST |
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The Karnataka government is planning two mega health and heritage tourism projects in the state that would attract investments worth Rs 1,800-2,000 crore.
Speaking to Business Standard Vinay Luthra, managing director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), said the state government was formulating a tourism policy in this regard and the policy was likely to get cabinet approval in the next 2-3 months.
KSTDC inaugurated its information and booking centre in here on Monday.
Under medical tourism, the government has proposed a Health City on 300 acres near the Bangalore International Airport to be developed in public-private partnership. The government would act as a facilitator and provide land while investment worth around Rs 1,000 crore would come from private players.
The city will have superspecialty hospitals for neurology, cardiology, rehabilitation centres for alcohol and drug addicts, ayurveda hospital and hotels. It is likely to come up in the next 2-3 years.
According to industry body Assocham, India's medical tourism sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30 per cent to become a Rs 9,500-crore industry by 2015.
Around 180,000 foreigners visited India for treatment in nine months and the number is likely to increase 22-25 per cent in the coming years, it said.
While a heart-valve replacement costs about $0.2 million (around Rs 1 crore) in the US, in India it can be done in $10,000 (around Rs 5 lakh), which also includes round-trip airfare.
As part of heritage tourism, Karnataka is planning to promote a project at Hampi on 235 acres, said K Viswanatha Reddy, director, tourism department.
The project will comprise a 5-star hotel with 200 rooms, budget hotel, restaurant, entertainment areas and other tourism-related activities. The project would attract investment worth Rs 800-1,000 crore. Here too, while the government would be a facilitator, investment would come from private developers, he said.
According to reports, over five million foreigners visited India in 2007, of which at least three million visited heritage sites especially in the two southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The share of cultural heritage tourism in the overall tourism figure in India is over 60 per cent.
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