By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC
Just one look at the stats released by the Ministry of Tourism for the year 2016 says it all. Surprise, surprise, Tamil Nadu has emerged as the premium destination for both domestic and international tourists, beating the much-touted Uttar Pradesh with its Taj Mahal and other talked about destinations like Goa or Kerala by a huge margin. How did this wonder happen and that too in a State which is mired in political problems? Well, the answer is simple. With a 45 percent share of “Medical tourism,” which by 2020 is estimated to become an 8 billion dollar industry, the increase of arrivals of both domestic and international tourists to that State is not surprising. Another feature of Tamil Nadu tourism is the month-long Music Festival at Chennai held in the month of November-December. nris come in hordes from all over the world. One more reason for the success of tourism in TN is that private-public partnership (PPP) is actively flourishing. The well-oiled machinery does not depend on government for its support. Where does our God’s gifted Karnataka figure in this list? In domestic travel business, we stand at the fifth spot and in international arrivals, Karnataka does not even figure in the first ten ! How is that Tamil Nadu, with its hot and humid weather, is able to attract so many tourists when Karnataka with its excellent weather and God’s gifted attractions is not able to increase its tourist footfalls? Simple, the tourism infrastructure in Karnataka like airports, roads, public toilets are woefully short of any standards. A premier tourist destination like Mysuru has one flight and that too to Chennai. Mysuru is not connected to any other destinations like Goa or Cochin. The roads are full of humps and potholes. The less I talk about toilets the better. Tourism officials are frequently transferred resulting in lack of continuity in the Department.
