Karnataka Wine Board to integrate wine tours into popular package tours

KWB MD says, the role of the board is well-defined in the new Karnataka Tourism Policy as far as promoting gastronomic tourism packages and wine tourism in the country was concerned.

The Karnataka Wine Board (KWB), the only dedicated wine board in any state of the country, will try to integrate vineyard visits into popular tour packages operated by the Karnataka Tourism Development Corporation, as part of its marketing and promotion activities.

According to Somu T, managing director of KWB, the role of the board is well-defined in the new Karnataka Tourism Policy as far as promoting gastronomic tourism packages and wine tourism in the country was concerned.
The Karnataka Wine Board is attempting to integrate vineyard visits into popular tour packages operated by the Karnataka Tourism Development Corporation.

Somu said that the state has huge untapped potential for wine tourism which is largely unexplored so far. Citing the kind of tourism revenues that wine regions like the Napa Valley of California generate, which far exceeds the revenue from the production and marketing of their wines, Somu said that the attempt of the KWB is also to make wine tourism a key activity of the Board.

Sarvesh Kumar, general manager of the KWB said that they are encouraging wine tours, an important aspect of the package tours which KTDC operate between Bengaluru - Mysore, Bengaluru - Hampi; Bengaluru - Nandi Hills, Bengaluru - Tirupati, among others.

He said that a lot of foreign tourists visit the heritage centres of the State like Hampi and Badami and there are a number of vineyards around these destinations which can be integrated into the packages.

While Big Banyan Tree winery near Bengaluru offers accommodation facilities, Kumar said that a lot of wineries like Sula and Grover offer day tours.

The KWB officials said that the effort of the board is to expand the grape cultivation to non-traditional areas like Sakleshpur in the Western Ghats.

KWB participated in the maiden VinExpo, a wine and spirit expo, in Delhi which concluded last week.