Govt helped 3K int’l tourists return home: Ravi

The government has coordinated with the embassies of 26 countries to safely airlift 3,200 foreign tourists who were on vacation in different destinations across Karnataka, Tourism Minister C T Ravi said in a statement on Monday.

The department officials co-ordinated with the embassies and sent the tourists to Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Goa international airports from where they flew to their respective countries, the statement said.

With this, a majority of the foreign tourists who were visiting tourist destinations in Karnataka have been evacuated. A few who were on yoga retreats and the like, and were not staying in hotels, have chosen to stay back, officials in the department said.

On Monday, department officials held a meeting with various industry representatives, including hotels, restaurants, car operators, travel agents, event managers, to hear their grievances pertaining to the impact of the lockdown.

A senior official in the department told DH that the respective associations submitted requests, seeking financial relief to tide over the crisis.

This included requests for GST relief for a few months, apart from relief on loan repayment installments. Some representatives also sought financial aid for contract staff working in these sectors.

The department has taken into consideration all the requests and a decision will be arrived at, after discussing with the Chief Minister, the official said.