Kerala’s Malabar region will have a prominent place in the tourism map of the Kerala with the operation of the Kannur Airport, said Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. He was addressing the Partnership Meet conducted in Chennai.
“With the inauguration of the Kannur International Airport, the world can now wake up to the wonders of Malabar. Kerala Tourism will leverage upon established destinations in North Kerala like Bekal and Wayanad, whilst giving thrust to lesser known micro destinations in Kannur and Kasaragode districts, like Valiyaparamba Backwaters, Kuppam and Ranipuram,” said the minister.
“Kerala has always promised to be an enriching experience for travellers, and art has been the crux of our tourism initiatives. It is our mission to peg Kerala as a soul stirring travel experience,” said Rani George, Tourism Secretary of Kerala.
“We begin this year gracefully with a week-long potpourri of dance forms at the Nishagandhi Dance Festival, which just concluded last weekend in the capital city, and have many other festivals planned for the rest of the year including the Nishagandhi Monsoon Festival,” added Rani George.
Kerala Tourism kicked off events to promote their destination aggressively in the coming year by easing the concerns people have about the impact of flood on tourist spots.
Tourism Deputy Director V S Anil said the state is expecting to have 50 per cent growth in domestic tourists and 100 per cent in foreign tourist. He said Tamil Nadu is the number one tourist market for Kerala. Around 14 lakh people from Tamil Nadu visited Kerala during the year 2018.
“The campaigns will focus on new experiences for the tourists and reiterate the fact that the recent floods did not affect our tourist destinations. The damages have been rectified in record time,” added Anil.
A delegation of 50 representatives from travel, tour and hospitality business from Kerala have interacted with 200 representatives in Chennai..
