Karnataka plans Tourism Trade Act

In an attempt to woo investors and speed up investment processes in the tourism sector the state government is planning to come out with a Tourism Trade Act. The government has almost finalised the draft act and is planning to circulate it among industry bodies for their feedback.

“We are planning to come out with a new Tourism Trade Act to bring in transparency. The new Act would also give information about various ecotourism projects and regulations regarding setting up of resorts in the state. We will circulate it to various industry bodies with couple of days,” Tourism Department Principal Secretary Latha Krishna Rao said.

 

Further she said, the government and tourism department is looking at various ways to improve the administration of the hotels and resorts in the state.

Earlier addressing a session as part of the Global Investors Meet she said, the state has signed agreement worth Rs 36,000 crore in the tourism sector which includes setting up theme parks, five star hotels, resorts, beaches among others.

The Unesco World Heritage Centre Hampi is has attracted interest of many investors who participated in the GIM 2012. The government has already identified three acres of Tourism Department’s land in Hampi for investors to set up a heritage hotel.

“Hyatt Hotels and Resorts is setting up a five-star hotel at Hampi, while Orange County, Somateeram and Windflower are setting up resorts around heritage spots like Pattadakal, Aihole, Belur, Bijapur, Jog, Mysore and Anekal,” she said.

The state is also planning to focus more on promoting tourism in the Tier II and III cities in Karnataka to set up various facilities for tourists.

“Whatever Expression of Interest (EoI) or Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) we have signed is not just for setting up facilities in Bangalore. We have moved away from the state capital and are promoting tourism in Tier II and Tier III cities,” Latha added.

Karnataka, which ranks as the fourth most-preferred tourist destination in the country, saw a tremendous increase in tourist inflow.

According to government data it has increased 236 per cent, from 25.2 million in 2005 to 84.6 million in 2011. The government had also granted 50 per cent and 75 per cent stamp duty exemption for certain investments.

Further, she said the government has offered land in 18 locations like Hampi, Pattadakal, Aihole, Belur, Bijapur, Jog, Mysore and Anekal to set up heritage hotels, resorts, eco-beach, theme parks among others.