Karnataka plans cruise tourism

Karnataka plans to promote cruise tourism along the coast with Mangalore as the hub. The state's tourism secretary I M Vittalamurthy said on Thursday that the cruise tourism will be based on a public-private partnership model.

"Along with cruises, yachting and backwater tourism will also be promoted. An integrated cruise terminal will be developed in Mangalore," he added.

The state is presently promoting coastal tourism in Mangalore, Murudeshwar, Karwar, Devbagh, Gokarna, Ullal, Malpe, St Mary's Island, Kaup and Marawanthe.

The tourism department has mooted the idea of setting up district tourism promotion councils headed by the respective deputy commissioners.

"The council will be given powers to approve tourism related projects up to Rs 1 crore. To strengthen this, the department will shortly hire 30 executives to be deputed in the districts to facilitate tourism related ventures," said Vittalamurthy.

With 10 international airlines connecting Bangalore to global cities, the government plans to attract high spending tourists.

In order to enable air connectivity from Bangalore to places of tourism interest, 23 helipads are being developed at district headquarters, he added.

To promote state's different regions, festivals like 'Mysore Dasara', 'Hampi Utsav', 'Bangalore Habba' are being upgraded and promoted at the state and national levels.

According to Vittalamurthy, the department is preparing a blueprint to offer 'The Great Western Ghats Trails' to adventure lovers. To facilitate this trail, integrated development of Jog Falls is being taken up with active assistance from Karnataka forest department.