Three mini buses to ferry tourists in Kodagu

hree mini buses to ferry tourists in Kodagu

Madikeri: Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) Managing Director Kumar Pushkar said the Tourism Department will operate three mini buses to ferry tourists to places of interest in Kodagu from November 30.

Speaking at the release of a short film on tourism at Hotel Valley View in Madikeri on Thursday, he said that Kodagu is acclaimed as India's Scotland. But the tourists are scared to visit Kodagu after the natural calamity hit the district, he said.

Hotels run by the KSTDC in Kodagu have incurred a loss of Rs 1.50 crore. Other resorts and homestays too, have undergone huge loss, he said.

"In an effort to revive tourism in Kodagu, three mini buses will offer tours to people at affordable prices. The facility is not introduced to make profit," Kumar Pushkar said.

He said several programmes have bee formulated to encourage tourism in the district. Assistance will be provided to food festival and cultural programmes at Hotel Valley View. Discussions are being held on bringing down the taxes for tourist vehicles from other districts, he added.

"Rafting sport was discontinued in Kodagu due to various reasons. New regulations will be brought into force within 15 days to restart rafting. It has been decided to form a local maintenance committee. The adventure sport will be restarted soon after the proposal gets a nod from the Cabinet," he said.

He said directions have been issued by the Tourism Department to open an information centre in the district for the convenience of tourists and added that KSTDC will provide all possible support to rejuvenate tourism in the district.

Hotel and Resort Owners' Association president Nagendra Prasad said that Kodagu tourism holds a prominent place in the national tourism. After landslides, tourists are hesitating to come to Kodagu. In Kerala, tourism has caught up again thanks to the support and assistance by the government, he said.

He requested to extend the dates for repayment of loans availed of by entrepreneurs.

SP Sumana D Pannekar said that tourism in Kodagu is improving gradually. "Sudden improvement may be detrimental. Consistency is a significant factor in tourism," she added.

Tourism Department Assistant Director C Jagannath and Chamber of Commerce President Prakash were present.