OBJECTIVE

To interpret the challenges and opportunities of Karnataka state in

tourism development and establish it as a major player in the country in comparing to other
state.

INTRODUCTION

Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of

6.23% to the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. Every year more
than 5 million foreign tourists and 527 million domestic tourist visit in India. In 2008, the
tourism industry in India generated about 100 billion US$ and that is expected to increase to
275.5 billion US$ by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate.

The tourism industry of India is based on certain core nationalistic ideals

and standards which are: Swaagat or welcome, Sahyog or cooperation, Soochanaa or
information, Sanrachanaa or infrastructure, Suvidha or facilitation, Safaai or cleanliness and
Surakshaa or security

As far as tourism in Karnataka is concern, due to large geography and

long and rich history, Karnataka attracts the tourists. Karnataka is fourth most popular
destination for tourism among states of India. Karnataka has protected 507 monuments out of
3600 centrally protected monuments, largest in number after U.P.

The Karnataka Government has recently introduced The Golden Chariot -

a train which connects popular tourist destinations in the Karnataka and Goa.

KSTDC (Karnataka State Tourist Development Corporation) is an entity,

was set up by government of Karnataka state in India to promote tourism within the state.
The aim of KSTDC was to provide infrastructure, conveyance and other facilities to tourists
visiting Karnataka. Part of mission is also to promote unknown tourist spots in Karnataka.
The corporation runs conducted tours—tours of predetermined places at predetermined times.
The KSTDC owns some hotels and guest houses also.

MAJOR TOURIST PLACES

 Bangalore is known as garden city. Lalbhag botanical garden, Vidhan
Soudha, Cubbon park, Banglore palace, Bull temple, Banerghatta are the famous place of
Bangalore .Cool breeze around the clock also makes this place very attractive for the tourists.

Maharaja's Palace, Mysore Zoo, Jaganmohan Palace and Art, Rashtriya

Manav Sangrahalaya and Sri Chamundeshwari Temple on the top the Chamundi Hill, are the
famous place in Mysore.

Keshav Temple at Somnathpur and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at

Srirangapatnam are also very famous.

Karnataka in all has 21 wildlife sanctuaries and 5 National parks.

Bandipur National Park in Mysore District, Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore district,
Nagarhole National Park in Mysore District and Kodagu district, Brahmagiri wildlife
sanctuary and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in Kodagu district are famous.

Karnataka has a number of waterfalls. Jog falls in shimoga district is

one of the highest waterfalls in asia. Varapoha falls, magol falls. Lalgulli falls.sathodi falls.
Unchalli falls, lushington falls, shivganga falls, ulvi falls, hebbe falls are other popular falls
of the Karnataka state.

Kudermukh, kemmangudi, agumbe, horanadu and nandi hills are the

some popular hill station of the state.

Besides it, there are lots of budha and shiv temple which attract the
religious people.

KARNATAKA TOURISM POLICIES

Upscale tourism, heritage tourism, ecotourism, conventions and conferences,

exhibitions, cruises and theme parks

The State Tourism Council, State Level Coordination Committee & District Tourism
Council to facilitate implementation of tourism policy

Department of Tourism (DoT) to prepare a comprehensive development plan for

development of major tourist spots and infrastructural plans, at an outlay of $30
million, for providing connectivity and common facilities

Encourage private participation in all tourism-related activities

 Promote eco-tourism, adventure sports

Development of travel circuits like Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal circuit and coastal

circuit in North Canara

Bengaluru to be developed as a major tourist destination through adventure sports and

high-end accommodation

CHALLENGES BEFORE KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT IN

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

As per the latest statistics revealed by the department of tourism, In

Karnataka 27 million domestic and 0.62 million international tourists arrive annually, which
place Karnataka fourth place in rank.

But there still remain unsolved issues regarding infrastructure,

connectivity, sanitation and conservation of both natural and historical heritage.

Infrastructure

According to a study it is found that there is a lack of basic

infrastructure and amenities like food, accommodation, and public toilets in various
destinations as well as their routes, which is a major drawback in tourism development in
Karnataka.

Unlike the beaches of Goa, and to a certain extent Kerala, the

beaches of Karnataka have the problem of sanitation and hygiene issues

Some of the beachside resort owners and tour operators have been
pleading with local authorities to regulate the beaches to promote tourism, but progress has
been slow.

Karnataka tourism sector faces shortage of hotel rooms. In 2007,

there were only 25,000 tourist-class hotel rooms in the whole of India.

Congested airport is also an issue for which foreigner tourists are

not habituate.

Stringent VISA requirement

 Stringent visa process also hindered the tourism development by
distracting foreigners.

Connectivity

All the major tourist places of Karnataka, which connected by road

and rail are not up to the mark. Besides it, the foreigners also don’t find airways and water
ways to the international standard in Karnataka.

Now government of Karnataka is planning to develop 3400 k.m. of

state highway with the assistance of World Bank and Asian bank.

South-western railway also proposed to start luxury trains in couple

of years.

Lack of fund

Lack of fund is the another big issue, which create a problem for
Karnataka government to develop tourism, due to this government is not able to find suitable
solution for improvement of connectivity and infrastructure.

Kerala has allocated Rs. 74 crores, Goa Rs. 41 crores and Tamil
Nadu Rs. 61 crores for tourism, whereas in Karnataka the budgetary allocation is only Rs.
13.5 crores.

Heritage tourism

Preserving and developing the state’s core competency in

heritage tourism is also a big issue before Karnataka government. The greatest asset of India
is its cultural heritage which attracts to the foreigners so it is necessary to conserve it and to
involve the local population in conservation the cultural heritage.

Due to lack of awareness of importance of heritage monuments

or places among people, It is very difficult for state government to conserve it. Besides it,
lack of a holistic approach to develop a heritage site is also a big drawback.

TARGET
Foreigners
 Honeymoon couples

Old age & retired people

STEPS TAKEN BY KSTDC TO ATTRACT TOURIST

The Golden Chariot train
The Karnataka Government has recently introduced The
Golden Chariot - a luxury train which connects popular tourist destinations in the Karnataka
and Goa. This train is developed with the investment of Rs.40 crore, for the creamy layer.
This train is voted among top seven train journey in the world by Vanity fair , UK.

Heli-tourism

Karnataka government is planning to link all tourist

destinations with better connectivity in the state. As part of this plan the state government is
encouraging heli tourism and there will be at least 30 helicopters available for use.

Online booking

With online booking facilities for the golden chariot train ,

ticketing process has become more transparent and tourist can choose their cabin and menu
according to their choice.

Golf tourism

Karnataka State Tourism Development

Corporation (KSTDC), to attract tourists from India and abroad, is developing ‘golf tourism’
packages. A lot of tourists who travelled on Golden Chariot want to play golf during their
journey. Especially visitors from Japan and Korea are very much interested in having golf.
Golden Chariot tourist will have the option of playing golf at Bangalore, Mysore and
Belgaum for half a day instead of going around for sight seeing.

As part of the golf package, the KSTDC will offer its Volvo
buses and luxury taxis for transportation to various golf destinations in the state.

Luxury buses
 Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd
(KSTDC) is planning to expand its number of luxury buses to start package tours to new
places, within and outside the state.

Infrastructure Development

The State Cabinet, which has decided to bring tourist

activities under the priority sector, has come out with a host of new plans including offering
government land to entrepreneurs at 50 per cent of the market value to establish resorts and
privatising the managements of government guest house. It has been decided that the

government would be creating infrastructure in tourist places so that

entrepreneurs could open resorts, hotels, amusement parks etc. The department is also
planning to develop its chains of restaurants across the state in collaboration with private
players.

State government has planned to set up 44 trauma centers

along the National and State Highways to provide emergency treatment to road accident
victims.

A lot of efforts have been taking place to set up a number of

call centers to answer all queries about your holiday plans. To be open 24 hours, it will cover

four tourism segments: Golden Chariot, Jungle

Lodges and Resorts (JLR), Karnataka State Tourism

Development Corporation (KSTDC) and the state tourism department

Apart of all these steps, state government also planning to

establish 12 new Airport within the state to control on air traffic.

INTERPRETATION

Karnataka state is very diverse in terms of its environment, geography,

its culture and tradition and also successful to maintain its vast heritage which is one of the
main causes of the success in tourism as Karnataka ranked forth popular state in India for
tourism. But there are lot of areas and aspect where Karnataka department has to do a lot of
work. To become more popular tourist places, state government should for focus on
promotion and advertisement activities as it is one of the main sources of revenue generation.
Government should develop the infrastructure and provide all the latest facilities like internet,
online booking, public convenience.

To promote the tourism in Karnataka, government should more

concentrate of using new techniques for the promotion of tourism like internet, cyber café
and call centers. Visa process should be simple for the foreigners so that they can easily think
about the planning of their tour in india. Lack of fund is the challenge for state so government
should introduce new schemes so that private player also attracts to participate more in the
tourism development and promote the tourism. Besides all of these, to maintain the heritage
property of the state as also necessary so there is a need of number of awareness programme
and projects for the state people to aware them about the importance of heritage culture of the
state.

Centre government also should give the state more help to develop
the tourism by funding in the new development project. The Tourism Ministry has also
played an important role in the development of the industry, initiating advertising campaigns
such as the “Incredible India” campaign, which promoted India’s culture and tourist
attractions in a fresh and memorable way. The campaign helped create a colorful image of
India in the minds of consumers all over the world, and has directly led to an increase in the
interest among tourists. This type of efforts will surely help in tourism development in
Karnataka as well as other sectors like horticulture, handicrafts, agriculture, construction and
even poultry.