Bengaluru: Good news for all theme park lovers who look forward to a rendezvous with their favourite cartoon characters! It has been reported that if the tourism department nods its approval, you could experience, as some say, the happiest place on earth- Disneyland, in Bengaluru.
The tourism infrastructure development department has proposed to build a theme park on the lines of Disneyland in the north of the city – either in Devanahalli or along Bengaluru-Tumakuru road.
It will cost a staggering Rs 100 crore and require 800-1000 acres of land, said officials.
“We need consolidated land for an integrated theme park. We are hoping to attract private investors to take up the project under public-private partnership. The investors’ meet at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) summit in Bengaluru is a platform through which we can come across interested parties,” said Gurleen Kaur, vice-president, infrastructure development corporation, tourism department.
Bengaluru is already home to three amusement parks – Wonder La and Innovative Film City on Mysuru Road and Fun World near Palace Grounds. Wonder La is about 81.5 acres in area. Essel World and Water Kingdom in Mumbai are spread across 65 acres. The proposed theme park will be the biggest in the country.
Convention centre: The tourism department is building a massive convention centre in Devanahalli on the lines of the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre, said tourism minister RV Dehspande at the 38th PATA summit. The two-and-half-day gala event is likely to see investors and technology platforms change the dynamics of the tourism sector, said vision group chairman Mohandas Pai.
Kevin Murphy, president, PATA, said: “With many young people coming forward to revamp tourism development in India, it appears that the sector is in for a major boost. However, we want the government to allow visa-on-arrival applications to be reinvented so that more international tourists can make multiple entries to this part of the world and business travellers can also make tourism commitments.”
