State identifies 22 beaches for coastal tourism circuit

Describing tourism as the biggest industry in the world, Tourism Minister R V Deshpande said that the aim of the government was to make Karnataka the best place for investment in India.

“We are driven by industry, which must guide us and advise us. While we would like to make Karnataka the best place for investments, we’re also open to suggestions,” he said at the tourism session, during Invest Karnataka 2016 on Thursday.

“Tourism is the biggest industry in the world. There is vast scope to develop tourism in Karnataka, as the state has all tourism products — heritage, adventure, eco-tourism, wildlife, coastal and religious — on offer. Special agencies have been appointed to rate tourism properties in the State. We are training local guides in foreign languages in five universities, and we consider tourism as a thrust area,” he said.

Sufficient allocation

The State government has made sufficient budgetary allocation for tourism. “We have spent Rs 250 crore in the last two years just on last-mile connectivity. We have already posted 175 tourist mitras across destinations in Karnataka, and 250 more are being trained. We have identified 22 beaches in the Sate to develop a coastal circuit, on which about Rs 50 crore has already been spent,” the minister said.