Bharat Rakshak

My brother went swimming at a small beach town in Kerala called Varkala. My brother, who swam daily for hours at a time, drowned just offshore as a result of the strong tides and currents. There are no signs or lifeguards. Please be aware that the currents and tides are especially dangerous in Kerala and be careful.

A slice of oriental romance

R. Krishna Kumar

The stone chariot in Hampi.

MYSORE: Karnataka's own palace-on-wheels that will connect heritage destinations across the State and unveil a slice of oriental romance to an international clientele is set to drive State tourism to a new high.

Riding the wave of popularity at the International Tourism Borse (ITB) Berlin, which concluded on Sunday, the State divulged its luxury train concept to a niche audience and tour operators specialising in luxury train tourism who sat up to take note that there existed a golden India beyond the Golden Triangle of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur.

ITB Berlin is reckoned to be the biggest and the most prestigious tourism mart in the world, and a positive impact there results in a bonanza for tourism sector of the region.

While the State made an overwhelming impact at the tourism mart and generated tremendous response as it showcased its diverse cultural heritage, the luxury train caught the imagination of the public and travel professionals.Tourism Commissioner Kumar G. Naik on his return from the ITB, told The Hindu that Karnataka derived tremendous exposure at the international tourism mart and helped create a positive profile.

The Karnataka team showcased its palace-on-wheels, now nearing completion, and if the feedback is any indication, then the State should roll out the red carpet and reap a rich harvest in due course.

Mr. Kumar Naik disclosed that the luxury train was nearing completion at the Integral Coach Factory, Perambur, and Pendse Associates, who also designed Maharashtra's Deccan Odyssey, are working on the interiors. The train will be aptly named so as to fire the imagination of the tourists and will emerge as a brand with popular recall value as in Royal Orient, Deccan Odyssey and the Fairy Queen.

Mr. Kumar Naik said they had not yet christened the luxury train, but had zeroed in on a few names of which Golden Chariot was one.

"It is after the chariot wheels at the World Heritage Site at Hampi, but no final decision has been taken yet. The luxury train will definitely chug out from this season starting September", he added.

The interiors of the trains will be simply out of this world and the consultants have visited Hampi and the Mysore Palace in a bid to pick up ideas that could be incorporated.

The rakes are going to cost Rs.32 crore of which the Karnataka Government is chipping in with Rs.16 crore while Rs.8 crore each has been sanctioned by the Centre and the Railways.

The itinerary is being worked out and the six-day seven-night tour will cover Bangalore, Mysore, Hassan (Belur, Halebeedu and Shravanabelagola), Hampi, Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami.

The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation is looking out for a project director to market the product to various stakeholders and oversee its management while efforts are on to outsource service providers to match the exacting standards that is expected to propel Karnataka tourism to a new high.

"We expect 39-40 cruise ships this season as against 21 last year," said an official of Mumbai port, which has recently floated tenders for building a Rs 200-crore new cruise terminal.

Backpackers packed away

Pioneer News Service | New Delhi

Foreign tourists spend more in India than in France

It could be the Incredible India campaign. Or just good old Indian hospitality. Tourists who come to the country stay on longer than they would in other tourist destinations. As a result, India earns more from each foreign tourist than even popular destinations like France.

A FICCI study released on Wednesday showed that despite infrastructure constraints, average foreign tourist spends more in India than in France. On an average, India earned Rs 65,085 from every foreign tourist. This is three times the tourist's expenditure in France and nearly double of average global earning at Rs 37,570.

The earning could be attributed to the fact that an average tourist tended to stay longer because of the size of the country and the variety of attractions, says the study on investment opportunities in hotel infrastructure in India.

The survey, however, warned that the benefit of higher earning will vanish if India was not able to put in place low-cost accommodation. Emphasising the need of building budget hotels to make for the swell in demand, the study warned that it will just be a matter of time that China and Singapore will gobble up the advantage of India if it did not wake up to its aggressively low-priced infrastructure development policies.

It has given example of how not to do business. The study pointed out that the hotel owners in their greed to cash in on the tourist rush to this IT hub, steeply increased the tariffs, forcing the professionals and business travellers to scout for no-frills accommodation alternatives. As a result, the occupancy level in the starred hotels slipped despite an unabated rush.

Most entrepreneurs smell an opportunity in building budget hotels. As many as 40 brands are expected to enter into setting up budget hotels in the next five to seven years, the industry study said. It called for single window clearance for these projects. Uncontrolled land prices and inconsistent taxation norms were other obstacles in the way of setting up tourism infrastructure.

Comparing hotel tariffs of India with the two countries, the study said India has highest tariff at about Rs 8,500 against Rs 6,250 in China and Rs 5,500 in Singapore.

Shanghai alone boasts of 1,35,000 rooms against a mere 1,05,000 rooms in whole of India. A country smaller than the size of Delhi - Singapore - has nearly half of India's total room capacity with figures standing at 48,000.

China also leads India in infrastructure development with 316 hotel projects in pipeline, almost double of India, which has 161 ongoing projects. Similarly, the room capacity target of China stands at 1,07,725 which is more than six times of India's 16,734.

Comparing India with rival tourist destinations China and Singapore in terms of tourist arrivals, the study noted that Singapore, despite its tiny size, gets twice the number of tourists and China gets more than ten times.

Against India's tourist arrivals figure of 4.3 million last year, China received as many as 46.80 million tourists and Singapore got 3.92 million, close to what the whole of India got in 2005.

travelguru.com keeps showing flights that don't exist.


Basically my question is - is there any special rule for purchasing air tickets in India if you are a non-resident Indian?

Tourism may seem the least of India’s worries, what with daunting deficiencies in infrastructure, education, health care and basic government services such as water and power. But tourism not only brings in valuable revenue but helps shape the world’s perception of a country and what it has to offer.

In a survey of Americans’ perceptions of India, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that those polled ranked India dead last among nine countries in terms of future world influence behind China, the UK, Russia and France. Other countries expect India to rise but not by much. Surprisingly, India is not seen as a top source of innovation.

AFAIK, no other country, rich or poor, discriminates against non-citizens like India does

S. Vijay Kumar

Visitors to have a feel of day-to-day rural activities


MADURAI: In an effort to preserve traditional practices and exploit untapped tourism potential in rural areas, the district administration has taken an initiative to develop infrastructure in select villages.

To begin with, Saranthangi in Parapatti panchayat has been identified where the village temple, pond and other amenities are to be developed at a cost of Rs.5 lakh. "The idea is to showcase local customs in the typical rural background. Tourism in Madurai should not be urban-centric as there is much more to see in villages," the Collector, S.S. Jawahar, said.

A tourism package is being evolved to attract visitors, including foreign nationals, to visit villages, interact with people there and have a feel of their day-to-day activities.

Villagers involved in traditional occupations such as pottery, weaving and cattle rearing will be encouraged. Unemployed educated youth in respective villages will be trained as tourist guides.

"The tourists will be received on the village outskirts and taken in bullock carts or horse-driven cars. They can see farm work, have traditional food and visit local temples. If the visit coincides with festivals, they can also witness folk dance and be part of the rural entertainment," he said.

Mr. Jawahar said that repair and development works at an estimate of nearly Rs. 10 crore would soon begin at the Meenakshi temple and Mannar Tirumalai Nayak Palace. Engineering and archaeological experts would meet on April 24 to fine-tune the work specifications.