“The sprawling Bangalore Palace Grounds all set to host the two-day South India Festival jointly organised by the Department of Tourism and FKCCI”
Tourism Director Ram Prasath Manohar inspects the venue and the preparation.
Bengaluru, NFAPost: In an attempt to give a fillip to the tourism sector and hospitality industry of South India as the purchasing power of citizens are growing, the stage is set for the two-day Dakshin Bharat Utsav 2024 to showcase opportunities in the sector for discerning visitors, investors and technology enablers.
Tourism Director Ram Prasath Manohar and FKCCI Chairman Ramesh Chandra Lahoti conducted the last-minute inspection of the preparation of the festival at Gate Number 9. Both Manohar and Lahoti gave instructions to the officials to make sure that the event makes deep impact as it anticipates an investment of Rs 2000 crores in the tourism sector.
Speaking to TheNFAPost, FKCCI Chairman Ramesh Chandra Lahoti said about 1500 delegates from seven South Indian states, officials from the Department of Tourism and senior dignitaries from the hospitality industry are expected to take part in the two-day festival.
“India is ranked 10th among 185 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2019. According to WTTC, the contribution of India’s travel and tourism sector to India’s economy was worth $ 199.6 billion in 2022. Our endovour is to make Bengaluru as a launchpad for tourism investment in the south India,” said FKCCI Chairman Ramesh Chandra Lahoti.
Speaking at the venue of the festival, Karnataka Tourism Secretary Ram Prasath Manohar said there is tremendous opportunity for investment in tourism sector in all the seven Southern States.
“The idea of this festival is to bring under the tourism sector and hospitality industry under one roof in order to make a space in the world tourism map. There will be more than 80 stalls where all the seven southern states will display their potential. The overall objective is to promote tourism in these seven states,” Karnataka Tourism Secretary Ram Prasath Manohar.
FKCCI Chairman Ramesh Chandra Lahoti said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the festival on Saturday the 15th June.
Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, tourism minister H. K. Patil, ministers Bhyrathi Suresh, transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, power minister K. J. George, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, Chairman of Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti, Assembly Speaker U. T. Khader, MLA Dr Ashwathnarayan, political secretary to chief minister Dr K. Govindaraj, Nazeer Ahmed, FKCCI Chairman Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, Tourism Secretary Salma Fahim and other dignitaries will grace the occasion.
Governor Thawarchand Gehlot will be the Chief Guest in the evening on June 16. Several seminars pertaining to tourism and hospitality industry has been organised during the two-day festival.