Mangaluru :
The department of health and family welfare will press for visa on arrival for tourists at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) with the Union ministries of external affairs and civil aviation in a bid to boost tourism in Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi.
This facility will draw tourists to various areas in Karnataka and medical tourism could benefit a lot, minister for health and family welfare UT Khader said here on Saturday. “We can leverage our strength in medicine – modern and ancient – to draw tourists and their numbers can be increased by having visa on arrival,” he said.
Inaugurating the Yenepoya Ayush Centre, Khader said health tourism has a major potential to draw tourists. Citing his recent visit to Kaup in neighbouring Udupi, Khader said an ayurvedic treatment centre there had attracted Russians.
Khader said he’ll have discussions with heads of various medical institutions in the two districts. “While drawing tourists to health facilities in the two districts is one issue, it’s also important for hospitals to give them the necessary infrastructure,” he said. Hospitals should provide rooms and other facilities that meet the expectations of tourists.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Mangaluru / TNN / August 23rd, 2015
