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Tamil Nadu to improve tourist infrastructure

     Chennai: The Department of Tourism in Tamil Nadu is planning to spruce up the tourism schemes and infrastructure in various tourist destinations of the State. Prominent places of tourist interest in the state are Yercaud in Salem District, Udhagamandalam, Kodaikanal and Kanyakumari, which the department plans to revive.

     A rope-way at the cost of Rupees 46 crore will be installed in Yercaud, which will have educated tourist guides. The State will also launch an orientation programme for porters at railway stations and airports, auto drivers, hotel employees to train them to receive tourists as guests. Mamallapuram, Vellore, Madurai, Kancheepuram and Thanjavur, where heritage tourism is being promoted, will also have improved infrastructure. With a total area 130,058 square kilometres Tamil Nadu offers the golden beaches of the Coromandel Coast besides more than 30,000 temples. Tamil Nadu, which is noted for its tradition of exquisite handicrafts, elegant bronzes cast in the style of the ancient Chola craftsmen and other handicrafts earned Rupees 2556 crore as foreign exchange earnings in the year 2005-06 through tourism. The budget allocation for the tourism industry from the state government in the year 2005-06 was Rupees 37.04 crore. Popular wildlife sanctuaries like Mudumalai, Point Calimere, Kalakkad and Kotagiri and the highest peak in the state being Doddabetta at 2623 metres in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu became the second place in the country to attract the maximum number of foreign tourists. The State administration is also said to be studying the tourism potential of Siddhar Kovil and Poolampatti areas in the State.
-Nov 27,  2006

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