Tourism Grading

Overview

The Department of Tourism (DoT), Government of Karnataka (GoK) has proposed a Karnataka Tourism Policy 2015-2020 which sets the direction for the Karnataka tourism industry over the next five years, with the key objective of increasing the tourism sector contribution to the State GDP through large scale investment which is expected to generate over 4.3 million additional jobs. The tourism policy highlights incentives and concessions to facilitate equitable regional development, local community development, employment opportunities and encourages developments in lesser known/ visited tourism destinations of the state.

The Tourism Policy specifies that all the tourism facilities and services in the state should be certified by a Rating Agency, to ensure delivery of quality services to tourists at acceptable standards. The Policy identifies around 18 tourism products ranging from services like eco-tourism to hard infrastructure like hotels/resorts/youth hostels/yatri niwas, for availing incentives and concessions from the government. Approximately 30,000 tourism products are expected to be benefited from this Rating program. The tourism products, when rated* through a certified Accreditation Agency have undergone rigorous assessment to ensure that they deliver a quality experience. Such accreditation would help develop effective and impactful tourism initiatives in Karnataka. The ratings would be used for the easy implementation of the tourism policy for providing various benefits like grants, tax exemptions, subsidies etc and promoting various tourism products through promotion channels available with DoT.

Benefits of Ratings for Tourism Facilities and Services

• Increased credibility, visibility and reputation in the tourism market place.

• Improved customer confidence and satisfaction, leading to repeat business.

• Nomination of awards - Ratings of products will directly help in identifying and recognizing the stakeholders in tourism.

• Recommendations to GoI and International agencies on tourism destinations and products.

• Easy implementation of Karnataka tourism policy for providing various benefits like grants, tax exemptions, subsidies etc.

• Filing projects for approvals before any parastatal body such as Karnataka Udyog Mitra etc.

• Promoting various tourism products through promotion channels available with Department of Tourism (DoT).