Mangaluru: “The coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and North Kanara have huge potential to become hubs of eco tourism. With the revolution in communications and the increase in the number of people travelling, the tourism sector had assumed such proportions that the economies of many countries and States were based on tourism. Coastal districts of Karnataka can reap the benefits of eco tourism more effectively in the coming days”, said Dr K P Sandhya Rao, Associate Professor, Justice K S Hegde Institute of Management, Nitte.

She was speaking on the occasion of a Guest Lecture organised by the Marketing Forum of MBA Department at Alva’s Institute of Engineering & Technology, Mijar, Moodbidri on 28th February.

Dr Sandhya Rao emphasised that, with the demand for tourism increasing, revolutionary changes had taken place in the products being offered. “Now people travel to visit historical places (heritage tourism), to seek cures for health problems (medical tourism), to seek solace in religious places (temple tourism), to visit places to learn the culture and traditions there (culture tourism) and to visit festivals and landscapes (eco-tourism). The government must ensure adequate facilities are provided for the growth of this sector”, said Dr Sandhya Rao.

Dean- MBA Department, Prof P Ramakrishna Chadaga presided over the programme. Dr G V Joshi, Senior economist and Professor gave introductory remarks. Event coordinators Dr Nagendra and Prof Gurudatt Somayaji were present during the occasion. Arpitha anchored the programme.

After the lecture, there was a discussion between the resource person and the students on the scope and possible employment opportunities in eco- tourism.