Keen on cruise tourism, but not casinos: Karnataka Minister HK Patil
BENGALURU: To improve travel destinations and draw tourists, the State Government is calling for investors to develop tourism sites under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
“Investments are sought for heritage and coastal tourism. The State Government is keen on coastal and cruise tourism, but not casinos,” Tourism and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said on Wednesday.
‘Casinos is not in our culture’
“Casinos is not in our culture. We want to improve the 320-km coast line, introduce water sports, houseboats, backwater tourism, surfing and cruise, but not casinos. It is not socially good. There is no proposal before the government and my department will not support it,” Patil said.
He was speaking to media on the sidelines of the announcement of ‘Dakshin Bharat Utsav’ to be held in Bengaluru’s Palace Grounds on June 15 and 16.
The utsav is being organised by the Karnataka Tourism Department and Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries. It is the first event where all southern states are participating to showcase the tourism potential and draw investors, Patil elaborated. Expression of interest for signing MoUs worth Rs 500 crore have been received and another Rs 500 crore is expected during the utsav from small and medium enterprises, the minister added.
During the utsav, Karnataka will focus on drawing investors to the ‘Adopt a Monument’ scheme. Also 18 waterbodies have been listed for improvement including KRS reservoir, Kabini dam, Karanji Lake, Bhadra reservoir, Malaprabha dam, Vani Vilas Sagara and others.