Budget 2015: A booster shot for selected heritage sites
Budget 2015-16 have earmarked several heritage sites for further infrastructure development to increase tourist influx. These include Churches in Goa, Hampi in Karnataka, Elephanta Caves in Mumbai, Kumbhalgarh fort in Rajasthan, Rani ka waav in Patan, Leh Palace in Jammu and Kashmir, Varanasi temple Town, Jallianwallah Bagh in Amritsar and Tombs in Hyderabad. The identified sites have been shown in the map below.
The development initiatives will not only focus on the individual sites but it’s expected to fuel the growth of real estate, retail and hospitality sectors of these cities. These development initiatives will also lead to increased employment opportunities in the said cities. The increase in employment will in turn increase the demand for real estate and infrastructure.
“The facilities like landscaping restoration, signage and interpretation centres, parking, access for differently-abled, and amenities for visitors, including security, toilets, illumination, and plans for benefiting communities around the sites would be restored in due course of time,” FM said.
News and Numbers
The number of tourists arriving in India has increased by 59.7% after the launch of visa on arrival (VoA) enabled Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) scheme for 43 countries. With the implementation of visa on arrival for 150 countries, the tourist inflow is expected to increase by several times. This growth prospects will directly boost the hospitality and retail sectors and indirectly impact the real estate sector.
CommonFloor Verdict: Giving importance to the cultural world heritage sites is a great move. Now it will be interesting to see how these cities prepare a road-map for implementing these plan.
