
BENGALURU: Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism HK Patil on Saturday said the gates of Vidhana Soudha will be opened for tourists and tour operators this month-end.
“Vidhana Soudha is a tourist spot of Bengaluru. People participating in the three-day Karnataka International Travel Expo (KITE), scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from February 26, will be allowed to visit the Assembly and Council halls, the galleries and corridors of Vidhana Soudha,” he said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the digital logo of the second edition of KITES, to be held in Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre. Over 400 buyers and sellers, 150 exhibitors and many stakeholders from 25 registered countries will participate in the event.
Familiarisation tours will be organised for domestic and international tour operators and stakeholders to various locations in Karnataka. Hotel and restaurant association have extended their support by offering stays in hotels at discounted rates and even free of cost for the participants.
Patil said rare photographs of iconic and lesser-known destinations of Karnataka along with important historical events will be displayed along the Vidhana Soudha gallery. “This was not done in the first edition of KITE that was held in 2019. Ideally, KITE should be held every year, but the pandemic and other reasons had stopped it. It will now be made an annual affair to draw tourists and increase the state’s GDP,” he said.
Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, who too was present, directed the tourism department and stakeholders to get unique and large investments to Karnataka, especially when single-window clearance for all departments will be launched at the upcoming Global Investors Meet. She told tourism department officials and other stakeholders to focus on long-term investment agreements. The cabinet recently agreed to signing agreements for 45 years. The department also has some land parcels that can be utilised for drawing investments, she added.