Government is concentrating on promoting large scale projects through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to boost tourism, said Welfare and Tourism Minister P Rajavelu on Thursday.
Projects like oceanarium, trade and convention centers, multiplex complexes, science city, five star resort hotels and theme parks are being contemplated on the PPP mode, said Rajavelu while addressing the 47th Annual Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India Convention at Goa.
Procedures are being streamlined to help investors, he said assuring that the Government would extend all assistance to entrepreneurs. Goa is a role model for the development of beach destinations, Rajavelu said, adding that Puducherry could also emulate the framework.
He also invited industrialists from Goa to think of tourism ventures in Puducherry.
“The Portuguese and French have made tremendous potential of tourism attraction and we have to preserve the cultural heritage as our USP,” he said recalling the colonial past of two tourism destinations.
The UT Government offers capital subsidy of Rs 1 crore to the star category hotels and tourism related projects in addition to the incentive of exemption of luxury tax.
Further, he said that Ministry of Tourism has agreed in principle to sanction Rs 120 crore for undertaking tourism projects under centrally sponsored schemes.
Puducherry has maintained a steady annual growth of 6% in tourist arrivals.
The “Peaceful Pondicherry - Give Time a Break” campaign going on for the last 10 years has yielded good results.
The number of hotel rooms increased from 1000 during the start of the millenium to 4000 currently.
The tourist arrivals also increased from five lakhs in 2000 to 12 lakhs in 2012. The average occupancy of hotel rooms is 59% round the year, he said.
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