The Kolhapurdistrict administration on Sunday announced that atourism festival will be organised from December 25 to January 15 to attract tourists from across the country and abroad.

The administration has also announced concession on tourism packages (up to 50%) and free transport service for tourists visiting Kolhapur during this period. The loss occurred due to this would be borne by the administration till the district becomes a major tourist destination as per a report in TOI.

Emphasising on the importance of tourism in Kolhapur, guardian ministerChandrakant Patil said, "The aim of organising the festival is to let people know that Kolhapur has potential tourist destinations and it's worth planning tours to Kolhapur. Once this message goes out to the people, the flow of tourists will increase. Initially, we need to take some efforts and bear losses. For this we are planning number of concessions for the tourists."

He added, "According to our plan, we conducted a three-day tour of tour operators from across Maharashtra that was attended by 45 tour operators. The operators were shown number of tourist spots in Kolhapur. These tour operators will now organise special tours for Kolhapur and announce packages varying from two to seven days. The tours will be organised from December 25 to January 15. Those tourists who enroll themselves for these tours will enjoy 50 per cent discount on the total cost of package. We will also provide a special luxury bus to tourists to travel from one point to other for free."

The tour operators were happy during their three-day stay in Kolhapur and realised that Kolhapur has potential of becoming a tourist hub, said Patil.