Karnataka Budget: CM proposes to leverage coastal, heritage tourism

Bengaluru: Leveraging Karnataka’s potential in heritage and coastal tourism is the continued focus of the state government as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented his 16th Budget on Friday.

The CM has allocated Rs 199 crore for the development of Renuka Yellamma Temple and the Tataguni Roerich Estate in his budget presentation for the year 2025-26. The temple will be developed under the Special Capital Assistance Scheme, he said in his speech.

With Rs 8,000 crore being earmarked under the Tourism Police 2024-29, which claims to make tourism a priority sector in the state, the latest budget reveals that the government is eyeing to tap into Karnataka’s potential in coastal and heritage tourism.

Upgradation of wayside amenities and Highway Hubs in the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada would be focused alongside the promotion of educational, health, adventure, environmental and water sports in 2025-26.

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“Karnataka has a lot of possibilities for the development in the Water Transport Sector. To help developmental projects, Karnataka Water Transport Policy has been approved already. Our government is committed to provide systematic infrastructure and management of boating activities in the coastal region. A detailed action plan will be prepared for international cruise, water metro, coastal berth programmes in Mangaluru, construction of port in Manki and shipyard in Honnavar of Uttara Kannada district and other river tourism activities,” states the Karnataka Budget 2025-26.

CM has also noted that tourist destinations in 10 select districts of the state will be developed at a cost of Rs 50 crore.

Seeking to develop basic infrastructure at UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Belur, Halebidu and Somnathpur, “upgraded facilities” will be focused in the fiscal year 2025-26.

In order to convert Lakkundi, a village in Gadag district into a UNESCO world heritage site, an open museum will be developed to conserve archaeological remains.

In November last year, the tourism minister HK Patil along with the department officials conducted a massive campaign to source long-lost and encroached archeological artefacts from the locals.

Further, the old Deputy Commissioner office (Athara Kacheri) building of Mysuru will be converted into a state-level museum showcasing the culture, historical and social milestones of Karnataka.

“Under the Namma Smaraka Digital Forum, more monuments will be given for adoption,” the CM highlighted. He said that as of now, 25 monuments have been given for adoption.

He also noted that the number of Pravasi Mitras, or guards, working at tourist spots will be increased to 1,000 and would be provided training for the safety of tourists. A 24X7 helpline would be made operational for the convenience of tourists.

With a boom in tourist destinations’ need for digitisation, OneTAC (tourism, art and culture) digital grid will be used to collect complete information about popular tourist spots in the state. OneTAC is a digital, decentralised foundational grid that leverages open transactional networks, registries, verifiable credentials, payment systems, and layers for asset exchange, personalisation, and governance.