5 TN tourist spots to have sound and light shows soon

CHENNAI: In a bid to attract more visitors, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to set up of sound and light show with laser 3D mapping technology at five significant tourist and pilgrimage locations including Thanjavur Brihadishvara Temple in the state.

In addition, the proposal will also be implemented in Annamalaiyar Temple, Tiruvannamalai, Tirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Madurai, Palani Temple, Palani and Ranganathaswamy Temple, Sri Rangam. Tamil Nadu has the largest tourism industry in India with an annual growth rate of 16%. The current number of domestic arrivals was over 495 million making the state the most popular tourist destination in the country, and foreign arrivals numbered 6.87 million, the highest in the country, making it the most popular state for tourism.

A senior official from Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) told DT Next that the proposed project will be implemented in PPP mode in partnership with Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE).

“This would replace the existing ceremonious videos on big screen 3D mapping technology, which is a new method that provides interactive display of special video contents even on any uneven wall and surface,” he added. Stating that the videos, which would be in both Tamil and English, will project the tradition of respective destination, he said “the show time can be approximately around 25 mins and show must be in these two languages.”

Pointing out that the ticket pricing will depend on the size of the investment, he said, “once the tender process is over, the successful bidder will start installing equipment to showcase the videos to the tourists.”

The official said that the video content will be prepared by both TTDC and HR&CE involving experts, who know the whole history of the site. The inspection of the sites to implement the project will start soon”, he said adding “the proposed plan is expected to be implemented within six months.” The TTDC official also recalled that the same project has been proposed in the historic Mahabalipuram.