Tourism Minister C.T. Ravi said on Tuesday that a comprehensive plan would be drawn up to promote the traditional sport of Kambala (buffalo race) held in the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada to attract foreign tourists.
Speaking to presspersons here after a review meeting, Mr. Ravi said that Kambala could be developed as an international event. A policy each would be drawn up to focus on promoting tourism in the Western Ghats, the coastal districts and the heritage sites in the State. The new Tourism Policy would come into force in 2020 and it would be 100 % eco-friendly, he said.
As part of the Dasara festival, the agrarian culture of the State was being displayed at a village in Mandya district. Those visiting this place could do ploughing and get a glimpse of village life and food. An annual calendar of tourist events would be drawn up to help tourists participate in unique tourist events and visit tourist spots in the State, he said. It was essential to protect historical places and the services of non-governmental organisations would be sought for their maintenance.
The Tourism Department had sanctioned 10 works worth ₹ 16.10 crore for Udupi district for 2019-20. Of this amount, ₹ 8.6 crore had already been released. Though there were 81 % vacancies in his department, he had taken it as a challenge to improve its functioning, he said.
After studying issues related to the Tourism Department for two months, he would consult experts on promoting tourism and then start with the implementation of various projects, Mr. Ravi said.
Raghupati Bhat, Lalaji Mendon, MLAs, Dinakar Babu, president of Zilla Panchayat, Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, president of district unit of the BJP, were present.
