INDIA. Delhi: Sreekumar S, Deputy Director (in-charge) of Kerala Tourism, announced new destinations, innovative tourism circuits, and infrastructure development at the Kerala Tourism Partnership Meet in New Delhi.
The award-winning Responsible Tourism initiative, which lets tourists experience village life and local communities, is also expanding. It will also ensure better connectivity, which is one of the new focus areas of the state’s reorganized tourism initiatives.
Focus on experiential tourism
Kerala Tourism, which has won global awards, will launch several new projects and initiatives to make the state an all-season destination and give new-age travelers a relaxing, rejuvenating, and educational experience.
Kerala Tourism Minister Shri Mohamed Riyas says the focus will no longer be confined to beaches, backwaters, and hill stations.
“We now want to transform the whole of Kerala into an interconnected tourist haven where visitors get plenty of choices and diverse experiences. All this will make a trip to Kerala a wholesome experience for visitors looking for diverse experiences, be it a stay in a houseboat or caravan, ecologically responsible adventure activities, or visits to heritage and cultural centers,” he said.
This initiative will make Kerala an interconnected tourism hotspot. Activity-driven and experiential tourism will take visitors to the state’s interior and explore its unknown or little-known spots.
Wedding destination
Kerala’s tourism is not only focusing on experimental or responsible tourism but also promoting Kerala as a global wedding destination and a paradise for honeymooners.
The government has announced a project for this state to mount digital and airport-based marketing campaigns, highlighting its huge potential in this promising segment.
The three projects, “Destination Wedding Campaign – Airports Translites,” “Destination Wedding Campaign – Social Media, Google Search, and Display Advertisements,” and “Promotion of Destination Wedding Microsite,” will highlight the state’s natural strengths as a destination wedding location.
Responsible tourism: the need of the hour
Considering responsible tourism as a way of life and necessity, Kerala will also promote its globally acclaimed Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission, which allows visitors to experience village life while supporting the communities that host them.
The mission has now become the first government-owned society in the state to provide training, marketing, and other support systems to local communities to start various initiatives in the tourism sector. Registering the RT Mission as a society will help it get funds from local governments and other agencies.
Explore the unexplored
Kerala Tourism will also showcase cutting-edge caravan tourism (Keravan Kerala) and the award-winning STREET, which stands for Sustainable, Tangible, Responsible, Experiential, Ethnic Tourism Hubs that take tourism deep into the state’s interiors and rural hinterlands.
Kerala recently launched the “Destination Challenge” initiative to identify and develop many places with tourism potential across the length and breadth of the state.
The Tourism Department will partner with local self-government institutions like panchayats to “explore the unexplored” and create micro-destinations across the state, down to the panchayat level.
Alongside Kerala’s houseboats, caravan stays, jungle lodges, plantation visits, homestays, Ayurveda-based wellness solutions, countryside walks, and adventure activities, including trekking to verdant hills, will provide a unique experience to visitors.
Adventure, wellness, MICE, and Responsible Tourism, will also be taken forward with a greater sense of purpose and vigour.
Kerala set a record in domestic tourist footfalls last year. The state hosted 1.33 crore tourists in the year’s first three quarters. Significantly, this marked an increase of 1.94 percent from the pre-pandemic year.
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