Coastal Karnataka’s unique characters should be made use of for tourism development, felt stakeholders from different sectors here on Thursday.
Participating in an interactive session at the World Tourism Day celebration organised by the Dakshina Kannada District Administration here, Yatish Baikampady, Chief Executive Officer of the Panambur Beach Tourism Development Project, suggested several ideas, including the creation of a beach tourism council and connecting different places of tourism attraction through seaplanes.
Stressing the need for the creation of a Beach Tourism Council, he said a majority of the beaches in coastal Karnataka is now turning as garbage dumping place. “If we don’t act now, then it will go out of our control,” he said. He said the council should include representation of youths from the regions concerned.
On operating seaplanes, he said most of the places of tourist attraction, including many temples, in coastal belt are closely situated near the rivers. Better use of this should be made by operating seaplanes to such destinations. Additional infrastructure such as smaller jetties is needed at the places of tourist attractions, he said.
Added to this, there is also potential for operating domestic cruise circuit connecting Kochi, Goa, and Mumbai to Mangalore, he said.
There is a need for the creation of a comprehensive tourism development policy for the next 20 years, Baikampady said.
Aravinda Prabhu, one of the tourism consultants, said that prominent villages along the coast line should be promoted as tourism destinations. This will help prevent the migration of rural people to urban areas.
The people of the region should be educated about the benefits of tourism development in the region, he said.
Vatika Kamath of the Mangalore-based Nirmala Travels suggested that the Tourism Department plan some roadmaps for the important destinations in the region. She also sought the establishment of basic infrastructure in some tourism destinations.
J.K. Rao, one of the participants, said that he introduced a floating restaurant in Phalguni River a few months ago.