Mysore airport update to start soon

The Mangalore airport will get international status with a maiden flight taking off on May 27 to the United Emirates.

Announcing this at the concluding two-day Travel Expo in Mysore on Tuesday, principal secretary for information, tourism and youth services, government of Karnataka, L Shanthakumari expressed the hope that modernisation of the Mandakalli airport near Mysore would start soon after the second hearing on a writ petition on the disputed 20-acre land coming up before the Karnataka High Court on May 30.

The rest of the 175 acres have been handed over to the government of India after signing a memorandum of understanding on October 5, 2005.

A suggestion that the Karnataka government should think of a second international airport now alone as the proposed international airport in the strategically placed city of Bangalore may become overused by 2008 was made in the first morning session on air and road connectivity.

"The proposed international airport may become outmoded by 2013. With more passengers and flights, it may not match the needs. Dubai is already thinking on a third international airport," said South Africa's Serendipity Tours Marketing Director Dinesh Naidoo.

Presenting figures of flights and passengers of the Bangalore airport, Singapore Airlines India general manager B K Ong said Bangalore needs to be put itself into the global map with better air connectivity.

It stood last among the four metropolitan cities with least number of daily services, international destinations, and very few direct services to major global cities. The Bangalore airport charges are more than Delhi, he lamented.

"What the IT Mecca needs is a good international terminal with international facilities.This is very critical," he added.

"There is no real open skies between India and the world, even though there has been liberalisation of some routes," he said calling for unbundling of the restrictive air policies to promote tourism and trade between India and other countries.

Chairing the session, infrastructure development finance company limited Tourism Infrastructure head Prem Subramaniam called upon the government to have a 20-30 year perspective while developing airports, take a re-look at the airport charges, provide terminal facilities and cut the delays at the Bangalore airport.

Ayurveda not taken into account, 1.65 lakh patients came to India for primary and secondary treatments and if ayurveda is also included it could be anywhere around 3.5 lakh patients, said Wockhardt Hospital & Heart Institute CEO Vishal Bali in the second session on health tourism.

Seeing huge opportunities in this sector, he said a study had revealed that it could be a billion dollar proposition by 2012. What needs to be done is to develop the sector on the lines of Thailand. "The best example is the international health promotion work of the Thailand Tourism Board," Bali said.

Bali suggested a consortium model collaborative effort, accreditation of health care standards, improvement of infrastructure which stood as a stumbling block for promoting health tourism, introduction of separate visas and entry channels at the airports for patients coming from abroad.

After IT and BT, Bangalore can become a centre for health and medical tourism, but the basic problem is of transport, said Naresh Shetty of MS Ramaiah Hospital. He suggested tie up with hospitals and tourism department for a global promotion of health tourism.