Anand & Madhura Katti, Mumbai (2010-09-03)

SOUTH India’s gateway state Karnataka is targeting luxury travellers by adding a second itinerary to its luxury train Golden Chariot and setting up a heli-tourism facility linking important historical sites.

The southern circuit on the Golden Chariot is scheduled to launch on October 4, and will cover Chennai, Mamallapuram, Kumbakonam, Pondicherry, Tanjore, Madurai and Kochi on its week-long journey. The new itinerary will alternate with the existing itinerary that covers Karnataka and Goa.

Karnataka tourism director Vishwanath Reddy told TTG Asia e-Daily that the state would also launch heli-tourism in a month or so. In the pipeline are 23 helipads, one in every district and at every important tourist destination.

Heli-tourism will first connect the heritage circuit that includes the World Heritage sites of Hampi and Pattadakal along with Bijapur, Badami, Belur and Halebidu. It will later be introduced to other circuits.

Reddy said: “We participated in ILTM last year and ALTM this year. We’ve also been marketing aggressively on the Internet and using social networking sites since April.”

Karnataka has the highest tourism budget among Indian states this year at Rs245 crore (US$52.5 million). The state received 160,000 visitors during the first six months of this year, up from 131,000 visitors during the same period last year. It is expecting a 20 per cent increase in arrivals for 2010.