Karnataka tourism policy includes wellness

The new Karnataka state tourism policy for 2015 to 2020 provides concessions and subsidies for eligible entities willing to develop tourism projects in the state.

These concessions encompass rebates, exemption of applicable taxes, charges, duties and others within the state for pre-defined categories and to develop tourism projects, including hotels in certain locations.

There are 40 places and targeted tourism developments include for wellness tourism, but not medical tourism. The policy offers 100% exemption on stamp duty and 100% reimbursement of land conversion fees. Investments in tourism projects are also categorized into three sizes with the subsidies increasing in type and amount by size of project.

The aim is to get large organisations investing in local projects to develop tourism facilities, with an extremely investor-friendly process.