Luxury on Wheels
Tourist Caravans are vehicles specially built for the purpose of travel, leisure and accommodation. The customized stylish vehicles will be equipped with all the trappings for a smooth ride and comfortable stay. They include Rigid as well as Towed/Trailer Caravans. In Rigid Caravans, the propelling mechanism and accommodation facilities will be built as a single unit. However in Trailers, the accommodation facilities shall be a separate unit which will be towed by a suitable vehicle for transportation. The ideal length for the Caravan shall be about 8.5 m.
A Tourist Caravan would include vehicles with the following minimum features:
- Sofa-cum-bed for a minimum of two persons
- Kitchenette with fridge and microwave oven
- Partition behind driver
- Communication between the passenger and the driver
- Air-conditioning
- Dining Table
- Audio / Video Facility
- Net Connectivity
- Complete charging system – external and internal
- GPS (desirable). Caravan would enable themselves with the GPS facility as and when it becomes available
- Preferably Bharat Stage VI compliant
- Eco-friendly waste-treatment mechanism
- IT-enabled real-time monitoring system for the caravan
Caravan Parks
Caravan Parks will be located in natural settings, giving top priority to tourists' safety and security and hygienic features. These parks will be a completely safe and secure zone offering hassle-free and stress-free environment to tourists, protected with necessary features like proper fencing, adequate security and safety arrangements, patrolling and surveillance cameras. Caravan Parks will be developed in the Private Sector, Public Sector or in the Joint Sector, as the case may be, the configuration of which varies from location to location, even though the fundamental attributes remain the same. The general focus of the development of Caravan Parks shall be for utilising the tourism potential of the new and untapped destinations.
Operational Requirements
- Be operational 24 x 7 during the tourist season or on demand
- Be connected by fair-weather road from the main road
- Have all necessary trading licences / NOCs from the authorities concerned on including fire and pollution
- Have public liability insurance
- Have electricity, water and sewage connections compatible with the Caravan specifications in India to ensure standardisation
- The parks could be standalone or hybrid. However, in the case of hybrid parks, the caravan-parking facilities and related services should be physically separated and be away from the other services like the wayside amenities, restaurants, general vehicle parking or accommodation
KSIDC Fund for Tourist Caravans
- Finance will be extended to only new vehicles. Second-hand and refurbished vehicles are not eligible for finance under the scheme
- Range of loan amount – Rs.50 lakh to Rs. 1 crore per caravan; the total limit is Rs 5 crore per enterprise
- Maximum finance from KSIDC per caravan – Limited to 70% of the cost of caravan. Promoters have to bring in the balance 30%
Target Group
1. Existing resorts/resort groups(firms, LLP and limited companies)2. Existing fleet owners/tour operators (firms, LLP and limited companies)
3. Returnee migrants
Interest rate – Presently 8.75% (floating), with 0.5 % interest rebate for prompt repayment.
Processing fee – Rs. 1,00,000/- plus GST
Upfront fee – 0.75% of the loan amount plus GST
Repayment period – 84 monthly installments
Repayment period – 84 monthly installments
Moratorium – 12 months, extendable by another 6 months, from the date of first disbursement.
In the case of existing clients, for considering loan under this scheme, they shall have good repayment track record with KSIDC, and also be a standard asset. Regarding new clients, there shall be no overdues to financial institutions/banks, the asset shall be standard, and the CIBIL score of all the promoters/directors/partners shall be more than 650.
Overall DER of the enterprise, including this caravan loan proposed shall not exceed 1.5:1 However, if more loan is required, DE ratio up to 2:1 may be considered with collateral for funding the excess amount.
The disposal of bio-waste, passenger security aspects shall be ensured before sanctioning any proposals.
Police character certificates shall be obtained for all staff involved.
Security for the Loan
1. Hypothecation of the caravan. In case of multiple vehicles financed, collateral security to cover 140% security.2. In case of funding for caravan parks, mortgage of caravan park exclusively to cover 140%.
3. Personal Guarantee of all promoters/directors/partners to be provided. Corporate guarantee also to be considered in suitable cases
Both the vehicle and parks have to be registered with the Transport Commissioner and Tourism Directorate.