Govt. of Karnataka, Department of Tourism and ‘Karnataka Tourism Society’, under the guidance of the Honourable Minister for Tourism, Ecology and Environment, CP Yogeshwar announced a series of initiatives to aid recovery of the tourism and hospitality industry in the state.
CONNECT 2021
Connect is an annual event to meet all tourism stakeholders in Karnataka and to interact with them. And to show case the activities of the Department of Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka and Karnataka Tourism Society.
Speaking on occasion of the launch of Connect 2021, K Shyamaraju, President, Karnataka Tourism Society, said, “Connect 2021 will help the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry in Karnataka to come under one initiative and will add immense value to the stakeholder’s efforts to market their product and create a networking opportunity with various other marketing organizations and professionals”.
He further added, “Reaching out to hospitality and tourism stakeholders all across Karnataka will help bring a focus on the industry to market Karnataka collectively.”
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES
- Invite suggestions from stakeholders in Karnataka for tourism promotion, interact with them and understand their needs and work towards achieving them to make Karnataka No.1 tourist destination in India.
- Listen to stakeholder’s thoughts and to find suitable solutions with Department for promotion.
- Create responsible tourism awareness among stakeholders to respect locals and involve locals in tourism activities.
- Involve all stakeholders in creating awareness of activities by Department of Tourism.
- To get maximum number of stakeholders to enrol as members of Karnataka Tourism Society and make KTS a strong tourism body.
Dates Destinations Covered
02.03.21 Mysore: Mysore, Mandya & Chamarajanagar
15.03.21 Bangalore: Bangalore Urban, Rural, Kolar, Chikballaapura, Tumkur & Ramanagar
18.03.21 Madikeri: Coorg
19.03.21 Mangalore: Dakshina Kannada & Udupi
20.03.21 Chikmagalur: Chikmagalur, Hassan & Shivmogga
23.03.21 Karwar: Uttara Kannada & Belgaum
23.03.21 Bidar: Bidar, Kalburgi & Yadgir
24.03.21 Hubli: Darwad, Gadag & Haveri
24.03.21 Vijayapura: Vijayapura, Bagalkot,
25.03.21 Hopset: Bellary, Raichur, Koppal, Chitradurga & Davanageri
KARNATAKA INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL EXPO 2021
Karnataka will host the Second edition of ‘Karnataka International Travel Expo’ from the 27 – 29 August 2021, the event will have over 400 buyers and media from 30 countries seeking opportunities in the Karnataka Tourism Eco-system and discover the state of Karnataka.
The inaugural event was inaugurated by the Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri BS Yediyurappa on the 26th August 2019 in the honoured presence of the Dr. Sudha Murthy, Chair Person of the Karnataka Tourism Task Force.
Announcing the second edition of the event, Honourable Minister for Tourism, Ecology and Environment, Sri CP Yogeshwar “Tourism, before the Pandemic, contributed 14.8% towards the State’s GDP and supported over 16 million jobs. Karnataka has immense potential to become a world-class destination and we in Karnataka are supporting the efforts of the tourism department to globally market the State”.
TK Anil Kumar, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka said “Karnataka is home to a large and exciting portfolio of globally acclaimed tourism products with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, splendid wildlife and resplendent nature, virgin beaches to adorn. ‘Karnataka International Travel Expo’, being held for the first time, provided an impetus to the inbound travel and
tourism and would enhance the marketing efforts of Karnataka Tourism to promote our destinations to the travel-trade from all over the world.”
The chief goal of the expo is to increase the overall size of the tourism sector in Karnataka. The event will gather international professionals looking to find new ways to further Karnataka as an ideal destination and get a first-hand exposure to various tourism products of Karnataka.
Major National and State level Trade and hospitality associations including the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India, Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), India Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), BCIC, FKCCI, FHRAI, Karnataka Tourism Forum, Enterprising Agents Association of India (ETAA), SKAL, South India Hotel and Restaurant Association (SIHRA), Travel Agent Federation of India (TAFI), Karnataka Pradesh Hotel & Restaurant Association (KPHRA) etc are among the many supporting the event.
The event will feature an exclusive Karnataka Pavilion: Mr. Vijay Sharma, Managing Director, KSTDC said “Karnataka with its diverse range of products is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive states for the travel-trade, both for leisure and business travel. KITE 2021 aims to be a globalized one-stop sourcing platform and is a vital networking platform for stakeholders within our tourism industry and the tourism department has helped the stakeholders to meet leading inbound tourism facilitators from around the world”.
K Shyamaraju, President, Karnataka Tourism Society, said “The Inaugural event was a grand success for several of our stake-holders and presented a unique opportunity for us to showcase some of our best hospitality products to travel agents and tour operators from around the world”. The second edition will help build on networking eco-system to focus on developing business opportunities with the travel trade from India and abroad. The stakeholders of Karnataka have accorded a tremendous support to the event facilitating the familiarisation tours across Karnataka”, he further added.
The event will attract participation from different parts of Karnataka, making it the biggest congregation of stake-holders from Karnataka. The event will present opportunities for the State’s Hospitality and tourism industry to come together and showcase our diverse products to a global audience. The event will reinforce interest for the state.
Key Features:
- One of India’s Biggest Hosted Buyer Travel-Event.
- The event is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
- Organized as a pure B2B event, the event generated over 10,000 Appointments between our stakeholders and travel partners from around the world.
- Over 15 different tourism segments: World Heritage Sites, Adventure & Wildlife, Business Travel and Hotels, Conference and Meetings, Pilgrimages, Festivals of Karnataka etc
- Over 100 Exhibitors representing various destinations and marquee products of Karnataka such as hill stations of Coorg and Chikkamagalur, Beach Destinations of Mangalore, Udupi and Gokarna, Historical Cities of Mysore and Bijapur, Wildlife destinations of Bandipur and Kabini and many more showcasing the best of Karnataka.
- Pre and Post Event Familiarization tours showcasing major destinations of Karnataka such as Hampi, Coorg and Kabini, Mysore, Chikamagalur, Badami and Pattadkal.
According Industry Status for the Hospitality Industry in Karnataka
The Karnataka State Cabinet in its meeting held on 18th February 2021, approved a proposal to accord industry status to classified hotels in Karnataka. This decision is expected to boost recovery of the hospitality sector through various benefits including applicability of industrial tariff for electricity and property taxes among other benefits. Hotels / Resorts classified / approved by the Ministry of Tourism; Govt. of India may avail the industry status benefits.
The tourism and hospitality sector has been one of the worst affected due to the global Covid – 19 pandemic. Government’s decision to grant ‘industry status’ to classified hotels / resorts in Karnataka is most timely and welcome.
Karnataka has recently released its Tourism Policy 2020 – 25 with focus on attracting investments by offering attractive terms viz., incentives, subsidies and concessions. Additionally, the Govt. of Karnataka has extended its support to initiatives that can help in the revival and growth of the state’s tourism and hospitality sectors.
