BENGALURU: To boost the tourism sector hit by Covid-19, the Tourism Department is taking several measures, including organising Karnataka International Tourism Expo (KITE) in Bengaluru from February 23 to 25, 2022, Tourism Minister Anand Singh said on Monday.
The pandemic has devastated the sector that suffered a loss of Rs 25,000 crore and it will take two years to completely recover, he said while speaking at the World Tourism Day celebrations. “Rs 500 crore is kept for providing incentives, subsidies and rebates under the Karnataka Tourism Policy 2020-26. By 2026, we expect around Rs 5,000 crore investment in the sector, employment to 10 lakh people and over 1,700 tourism projects will benefit from the policy,” he said and added that the tourism sector’s contribution to the state GDP will increase to 20%.
The department had earlier announced incentives, including a 50% rebate in property tax for hotels, resorts, restaurants and amusement parks, for 2020-21, waived-off electricity bills from April to June this year. The electricity charges and property tax for star hotels will be levied under the industrial category and not commercial. They have to be registered with the department to avail the incentives. Singh, who released the guidelines for implementing the State Tourism Policy, said they have increased subsidy from 15% to 25%.
An additional 5% subsidy will be given to registered establishments in Kalyan Karnataka region.
The department is also planning to hold Global Tourism Investors meet in Bengaluru, Singh said added that they will start a single-window system to address film industry concerns over getting permission for shooting.