Visitors entering the city through East Coast Road (ECR) will now be greeted by multi-directional signboards guiding them on the routes to take to reach heritage spots or other places of interest in this former French outpost.
In an initiative aimed at boosting the image of the city, the Tourism Department has installed signboards on road dividers from the entry point of the city on ECR to the Karuvadikuppam junction to a stretch of 1.8 km at a cost of Rs.3 lakh.
“Each signboard will be of specific interest to tourists as it would indicate the precise distance and direction to various landmarks and locations from ECR and will feature prominent attractions of the city. Measuring three-feet in length and two-feet in width, the boards are made of weather resistant material and can be seen even in the dark from a distance,” Director of Tourism R. Mounissamy told The Hindu .
Tourists on entering the city through ECR would no longer feel a loss of direction and be able to navigate safely as the signboards would direct them to the desired destination.
A private agency is implementing the project on behalf of the tourism department for enabling easy navigation for tourists visiting the city.
The signboards have the name of the landmark, distance and photo of the place, he said.
The signboards show directions to the old lighthouse, Sri Manakula Vinayakar Temple, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Matrimandir and other landmarks.
The signboards have been introduced in the first phase on ECR and would soon be expanded to other entry and exit points in the city such as the Indira Gandhi square and the Rajiv Gandhi square at Ellaipillaichavady.
The maximum number of tourists visiting the city is from Chennai besides Bengaluru. The two cities, in fact, account for almost 90 per cent of domestic tourists coming to the city.
Tourist inflow on the domestic front is usually during weekends or extended holiday periods. On its own, Chennai contributes about 75 per cent of tourists to the city, according to time series data collected by the Tourism Department.
