Mangalore: Need to Boost Tourism in District - DC
 
Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)
 
Mangalore, Sep 27: The tourism department and the district administration jointly organized world tourism day at the senate hall of Hotel Gateway here on Thursday September 27.
 
Inaugurating the programme, deputy commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda said that there is need to promote tourism in Dakshina Kannada on the lines of Goa and Kerala. Admitting that majority of the places in DK district lack basic facilities, he said visitors to holy places could be attracted to other tourist spots too.

"This year approximately 90 lac devotees visited Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala, 45 lac Subrahmanya Kshetra, 15 lac Shree Kshetra Kateel and 14 lac Kadri Temple. In the year 2011-12, as many as 11 lac people landed in the district through Mangalore Airport, out of which 25 percent were from outside the country.
 
The DC also pointed out that as in any other part of the world, hoteliers in the district too should follow the practice of placing brochures on tourists spots at their entrance desks.
 
"Improvement in tourism sector also strengthens the district economically," he added.
 
MUDA commissioner Ajith Kumar Hegde presenting his talk on ‘Rules for obtaining permission to run home stays’ said that home stays are aimed at improving the tourism sector. "However, there are conditions, like the owner of the home stay should be staying in the same building where he or she lets out the rooms, and a clearance certificate from the local police is a pre-requisite, among others."
 
An owner of a home stay in the outskirts of the city, Suresh Mathias said that way back in 2008, he struggled to get a license for home stay as the department concerned put a condition that at least five applications for home stays are required to grant license. The DC guided him to bring such impediments to the notice of the assistant director of tourism department in the district.
 
Mayor Gulzar Banu presided. MCC commissioner Harish Kumar, Mohammed Ameen, president of KCCI, Peter Nirmal, MD of Hotel Gateway among others were present.