Karnataka Tourism aimed to promote its inbound tourism, particularly its heritage, culture, wildlife, beaches, and adventure activities at ITB Berlin, which was held on March 7 to 9, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The 85-sq m Karnataka Tourism stand was inaugurated by Arvind Singh, Secretary of Tourism, Govt. of India and Harish Parvathaneni, the Indian Ambassador to Germany in the presence of Ramprasath Manohar Varatharajan, Director, Karnataka Tourism and. Janardhan HP, Joint Director, Karnataka Tourism.

The main objective was to promote the state as an all-round tourism destination offering a range of services. Various tourism service providers from Karnataka – Skyway International Travels, Dhole’s Den, Gamyam Ayurveda and Yoga Retreat, and Shathayu Ayurveda Yoga Retreat were also part of the Karnataka Tourism pavilion

The delegation from Karnataka Tourism met with international tour operators, travel agents and other important stakeholders to strengthen existing ties and forge new alliances.

Karnataka Tourism also held a road show in Munich post-ITB which was attended by around 45 tour operators, travel agents and media to further promote tourism to Karnataka.

Karnataka offers an exciting portfolio of tourism attractions that have earned worldwide recognition like UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Hampi, Pattadakal and the Western Ghats. In addition, it is home to 35 wildlife sanctuaries and 5 national parks, 17 hill stations, 320 kms of beaches, 600 species of birds, 40 waterfalls, 6000+ elephants and 524+ tigers.

It is a land lived, ruled and enriched by renowned dynasties like the Kadamba, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta, Hoysala, Vijayanagara and Wodeyar dynasties. It is also home to 747 unique protected monuments, temples and palaces viz. Bidar, Badami, Gol Gumbaz, Aihole, Belur, Halebid, Mysore Palace and Shravanbelagola.

Bengaluru is home to 13000 start-ups and around 40 unicorns. Out of 13000, 364 are in education, 128 transport and 126 in retail and e-commerce. Bangalore is named as startup heaven and Silicon Valley of Asia. This is because of the confluence of talent groups, entrepreneurship, investors, academia, industry and tech dominance.

Karnataka is known as a land of silks, spices, and sandalwood. The state is famous for its magical hill stations, spectacular waterfalls, pilgrimage centres, and a coastline dotted with unspoilt beaches. With a vast range of tourism landscapes such as archaeology, religion, ecotourism, wildlife, etc. the state offers innumerable experiences to discerning travellers.

There is no denying that Karnataka is a top tourist destination all year round, a land of incredible diversity.  No matter whether you want to walk by the beach, explore age-old monuments and palaces, experience wildlife, or scuba dive, the state tourism industry has a lot of potential that needs to be tapped. With this aim, Karnataka Tourism showcased its gamut of offerings at ITB Berlin 2023.