City’s missed bus

City’s missed bus
Deccan Herald


Bangalore comes with several tags attached — IT City, BT City, Science City, Garden City, Garment City, Health City and Pub City. However, when you ask a visiting tourist what he has seen in Bangalore, he is most likely to have a stock answer: “Iskcon Temple, Tipu Sultan Summer Palace, Bull Temple, Lal Bagh...”. Along with a footnote: “Bangalore is boring.”

The Tourism Department is confronted with a unique problem – The capital of Karnataka is not sell-able, as far as tourism is concerned. The country’s hottest business destination seems to be creating a rather dull image for itself – of all work and no play. For business, Bangalore it is, but for leisure, they would rather take off to Mysore or Kodagu. This trend is reflected quite clearly in the occupancy rates in hotels. While several hotels are forced to turn away guests due to lack of rooms on weekdays, even leading hotels post 50 per cent occupancy rate during weekends, points out I M Vittal Murthy, Principal Secretary, Tourism Department.

It is not that the Tourism Department is not trying. Roping in private companies and public corporations in its efforts, the city saw a slew of first-of-its-kind tour options. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) introduced its own uniquely designed luxury tour bus two months ago with fares ranging from Rs 250-Rs 350. Recently, City Swaps, a private company, started its own tour service, with a fleet of open-roofed double-decker buses, pricing its day passes at Rs 300. The response to both of them has been lukewarm, mainly because of their high cost and lack of destination options.

What is Bangalore’s problem? Is it because it comes with limited tourism options, or is it due to a faulty marketing strategy? Stakeholders point at the latter. According to them, Bangalore fails to live up to its name (or names). Tours in ‘IT City’ do not cover Electronic City and Information Technology Park in Whitefield. Students wishing to explore ‘Science City’ end up visiting the Nehru Planetarium, Visvesvaraya Science Museum and HAL exhibition, while the true Science symbols like Indian Institute of Science, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Raman Research Institute and DRDO remain off limits. There are no exhibition centres like HAL to showcase their work. Even as the BT revolution unfolds in the city, tourists do not even catch a glimpse of Biocon.

“The biggest flaw is that Bangalore is not working on its strengths – that of being a cosmopolitan IT City,” points out Arun Pai of Bangalore Walks. According to him, the city, with its wide range of choices, has something to offer to everybody.

However, the limitation is that tours are monument-based, and not perspective-driven. “Tour operators should realise there are different demographic groups with diverse interests visiting the city. Tipu’s summer palace will be a disappointment for a Rajasthani tourist. Youngsters would be more interested in seeing the malls, pubs and cafes rather than museums. And almost all would want to see IT buildings. Ironically, all the things that people like most about Bangalore, are not incorporated in the tourist packages,” Mr Pai says.

PROMISES

*KSTDC to begin round trips to IT zones from September

*BMTC planning to start

exclusive ‘Temple Rounds’ in the morning, ‘Science Rounds’ in the afternoon and ‘Bangalore Rounds’

to tour around IT zones.

*KSTDC to develop 35 tourist destinations on the outskirts of Bangalore for day trips

*Craft & cuisine bazaars in Vidhana Soudha premises and Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens on second

Saturday of every month

*Information kiosks and city guide cells to be established in Railways station and Kempegowda bus stand

*Training taxi drivers to

become chauffeur guides

*Training auto drivers

in etiquette

*Promote home stays

STRENGTHs

* Strong brand image

* Opportunities for Public Private Partnership

* Variety of options, ranging from temples, gardens to malls and pubs

* Cosmopolitan outlook

* Pleasant climate

WEAKNESSES

* Tourist packages have

limited options

* Non-availability of hotel rooms and exorbitant room tariffs

* Security issues

* Poor public transport system

* Lack of information cells and guides

THE TRIP

What do tourists find most intriguing about Bangalore? Deccan Herald reporter caught up with a few tourists on the BMTC’s Curituba tour bus on Tuesday morning, and found the queerest of answers. Auto display cards, Volvo city buses, Mysore Sandal Soap factory and IT offices appealed to most, but for some, it was the aerodrome. “I would like to visit Electronic City, but I don’t know how to get there,” said Paribasha Pal from Rourkela.

Basic facilities like toilet, were found lacking in several destinations. Either there were no toilets or they were located away from the premises and no signage were given. In a Sulabh Shouchalaya near Bull Temple, the reporter found a man using the toilet meant for women. At Lal Bagh Gardens, a toilet near the entrance did not have water, which the attendant explained as a “temporary problem”. There are only three toilets in the 240-acre park.

Travel Desk

Bangalore Rounds: 22952422/22952314

City Swaps: 2558 0660

India Tourism: 2225 4396

Karnataka Tourism: 22352828

Toll Free Ph: 1600-425-1414