BENGALURU: Kumara Krupa Guest House, located in the heart of the city, is now being promoted as an ideal tourism destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), in the state.
Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) is promoting this after realising that there is more business potential in the increasing demand from corporate firms and government agencies, rather than tourists.
This is being promoted as the only state-owned government property to be used for MICE tourism. So far, state government departments were dependent on private hotels and were paying exuberant prices to host events. But now the departments have started inquiring about Kumara Krupa Guest House.This property gained importance after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) recently used the guest house to house children, teachers and delegates from other states who had come with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to witness the landing of Chandrayaan-2 from the ISRO office.
“The inquiries are increasing. But the problem with state government agencies is the mode of payment. All are used to working on credit and they delay payments. So now the bookings will be accepted only when advance payment is done. The PMO had paid over Rs 3 lakh in advance to house the children and other guests. As of now, people are only calling to inquire about bookings but not many want to organise events,” said a KSTDC official seeking anonymity. The guest house has hosted only about four events since it was opened to the public in June.
The property is managed by Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), but bookings are made by the Department of Personal and Administrative Reforms and KSTDC.KSTDC officials are promoting the place as the ideal location as it is in the heart of Bengaluru. It also has two halls and it comes at reasonable rates. There are also rooms and suites for corporate clients.
KSTDC Managing Director Kumar Pushkar told TNIE that the guest house was indeed being promoted for MICE tourism. Apart from this, other properties owned by Jungle Lodges and Resorts and the Tourism Department are being used to hold meetings and conventions, but are not promoted as MICE locations.