Govt plans big renovation of boat houses to boost tourism in State

Tamil Nadu has been the leader in tourism sector in the last five years and the State witnessed higher footfalls in both domestic and international tourists.

Further, the State has also been consistently recording an increase of more than 10 per cent in terms of the number of tourists visiting the State.

In 2017, the total number of tourists was close to 35 crores and the subsequent year, the volume crossed the 39-crore mark.

To continue this pace, the State government has drawn up an ambitious plan featuring a host of new and innovative initiatives. Important among them is the renovation and development of boat houses in the State with different tourist-friendly facilities.

The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), an arm of the State Tourism department, has been entrusted with the task of developing tourism in the State.

TTDC maintains eight boat houses in different places like Muttukadu, Mudaliarkuppam, Ooty, Pykara, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Pitchavaram and Courtallam.

According to officials in the Tourism department, boat houses are one of the most preferred leisure spots of visitors, especially domestic tourists.

The government has hence decided to accord special attention to develop these facilities with innovative and attractive features. Many boat houses have even been given a facelift by the department this year. “TTDC has purchased two water scooters for the Muttakadu boat house in February this year to further boost tourism in Muttukadu, which is located on the way to Mahaballipuram. Similarly, at the boat houses at Kodaikanal and Pykara, the government has set up bio toilets to maintain a safe and clean environment for the tourists”, officials said.

The officials also said that as continuation of the ongoing works in improving the boat houses, the government had planned to renovate the ramps at the Pykara boat house at a cost of Rs 15 lakh.

“Already, there are 25 different types of boats in Pykara. But there have been complaints from tourists that the ramps are not in proper condition and they are not in a usable condition. While boating being the major tourist attraction in Pykara, the damaged ramps, a relatively small issue, will be set right at the earliest,” officials said.

Similarly, renovation works would be carried out at the Kodaikanal boat house (unit-II) by repairing the ramps, and steps are under way to improve it and place it on a par with the private boat houses. A sum of Rs 26 lakh had been allotted by the government for the project.

The government isoperating 112 boats in two boat houses in Kodaikanal.