“LDF Government will generate 5 lakhs job opportunities in the tourism sector during its tenure,” said Tourism Minister Kadakampalli Surendran. He was speaking at the inauguration of the new career portal of tourism, developed by Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS), at Trivandrum on 12th July.
“Kerala Tourism is in the path of development. The government’s vision is to make the entire stretch of Kerala to be tourism destinations, other than Kovalam and Kumarakam. The stagnation in the tourism sector has been changing and it is moving forward under the governess of the LDF. Innovative steps has been taken to improve tourist inbound to our state,” said the minister.
Kadakampalli Surendran, Kerala Tourism Minister
Lots of landmark projects are underway. Kadakampalli informed that the Malabar cruise project will be completed in three years. Jatayu tourist spot in Kollam will be fully functional by Malayalam month Chingam 1st (August 17) this year. Nishagandhi Music Festival, which is scheduled to be conducted from July 15, will be made available for tourists also. The minister also expressed hope that more foreign tourists are expected during the Onam season this year. The minister urged tour operators to bring more foreign tourists to Kerala during Onam season.
Objective of the tourism job porter is to bring job opportunities in the tourism and hospitality industry to the job seekers. The web address is – www.tourismcareer.in
Rani George, Tourism Secretary
Tourism Secretary Rani George said, “Tourism industry of Kerala has got a proper vision now. A tourism policy has been declared. It says we will strive to double the inbound tourists in the state. It also aims at creating five lakh job opportunities in the tourism sector.”
K Jayakumar, Ex Chief Secretary
K Jayakumar IAS, Ex-Chief Secretary opined that Kerala tourism sector should encourage more entrepreneurs for its growth. The concession given to IT industry should be given to tourism also. We can also have tourism incubation centers to encourage new ideas. We have exploited only 15 per cent of the tourism potential in the state so far.
“The performance of District Tourism Promotion Councils is not up to our expectations. They should be converted in to professional agencies at District level. Ensuring healthy competition among districts will contribute to the development of tourism industry to a great extend,” he added.
P K Anish Kumar, President, ATTOI
P K Anish Kumar, President, Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India (ATTOI), said the encouragement of private participation is inevitable for the development of Tourism in the state and government is working in this direction. “The Yoga Ambassadors Tour organized by ATTOI has become a huge success with the selfless support of the state government. The tour programme has played a significant role in propagating Kerala Tourism to the world and helped to recover from the stagnation in the industry, due the recent Nipah fever outbreak.”
V S Sivakumar MLA, Kerala Travel Mart Society President Baby Mathew Somatheeram, South Kerala Hoteliers Forum Representative V Chandrasenan Nair, KTDC MD Rahul, KITTS Director Rajasree Ajith, KITTS Principal V Rajendran etc. also delivered their speech in the meeting.
