Tag: Kadakampally Surendran

Kerala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has termed the Central Government decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Enterprises as a “big scam”. “This is daylight robbery. Despite our requests, the airport has been leased to the Adani group, which is a large conglomerate,” the minister said. Adani has won the rights to operate the airport for 50 years. The Kerala government has been opposing privatisation of the Thiruvananthapuram airport for a long time. The state had even expressed willingness to create a separate company to run the airport. The minister termed the privatization move as unacceptable citing that ... Read more

Kerala Tourism is embarking on a brand building mission to make the state one of the most sought-after global destinations, said Hon. Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran on Monday. Speaking after distributing prizes to the winners of the Second Clint Memorial International Children’s Online Painting Competition, the Minister said though Kerala has firmly positioned itself on world tourism map, there are still potential markets to be tapped. “One of the biggest challenges Kerala is facing in tourism sector is that it has to compete globally. We mostly try to attract visitors, who would have gone to Sri ... Read more

Amid Kerala Tourism’s effort to woo more Chinese travellers to the state, a workshop was held today for travel and tourism trade as part of designing a marketing strategy to increase their footfall. Inaugurating the concluding ceremony of the workshop, state Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the state should tap the strong China market which sends 150 million tourists across the world. “Kerala will do a sustained China Ready campaign with definite partnerships at G2G, B2B and B2C levels,” he said. “In spite of deep historical, cultural and continental connect, Kerala is still not the most frequented tourist destinations of the Chinese, ... Read more

International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019), organized by Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), in association with Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, kick-started at the Le Meridien in Kochi today. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala, will officially inaugurate the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019), at 6 pm today. The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), in association with Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, is organizing the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) in Kochi to address the challenges related with technology faced by Indian tourism and hospitality industry. The event started ... Read more

Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala, will inaugurate the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019), to be held at Le Meridien on September 26. The Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), in association with Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, is all set to host the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) in Kochi to address the challenges related with technology faced by Indian tourism and hospitality industry. The third edition of ICTT, organized by ATTOI, in association with Kerala Tourism, aims at helping the players of tourism industry to stay abreast with the latest technology ... Read more

India’s tourism industry will discuss in depth methods to improve personalised travel plan using latest technologies in the industry the world over, as Kochi is set to host the 3rd International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) beginning on Thursday. Kerala’s Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran will inaugurate the September 26-27 event, where around 500 delegates are set to benefit from half-a-dozen sessions that aim to enrich owners of hotels and resorts, online tourism marketing managers and tour operators with newest ways of bettering business. The two-day meet at Le Meridien will pay special attention on stronger application of artificial intelligence in ... Read more

Kerala Tourism was bestowed three prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold awards, including the one for an ethnic food restaurant run by women at Kumarakom under its Responsible Tourism Mission, at a glittering function at Nur-Sultan (Astana) in Kazakhstan last evening. The awards were received by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran and Tourism Director, P Bala Kiran from Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director, Macau Government Tourism office and Dr Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, during the PATA Travel Mart 2019. The two other gold awards were for an advertisement campaign of Kerala Tourism — Come Out and Play — and ... Read more

“India is a land that has tremendous potential when it comes to tourism. With countless destinations and experiences to choose from, India attracts millions of domestic as well as international tourists. However, the tourism industry in India is increasingly facing a lot of challenges, which include high rate and rationalization of taxes; connectivity and high air fares; service standardization and accreditation and increasing competition,” said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala while speaking at the Tourism Minister’s Conclave at The Leela Raviz Kovalam here today. The GST Council of India has imposed 28 per cent tax on hotel ... Read more

Tourism Ministers and top officials of various states will congregate at the famed Kovalam beach resort here on September 16 to deliberate on key issues and challenges confronting travel and hospitality sector and hammer out strategies to firm up India’s position as a prime global destination of immense diversity. Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel will be the chief guest at the conclave, to be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Leela Raviz, Kovalam. Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran will preside over the function. Major topics on the agenda ... Read more

Tourist guides who help the visitors know and experience the places they visit are the true ambassadors of Kerala Tourism, Hon Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran said on Saturday. He was speaking after presenting licenses and certificates for those who completed the training programme for regional and state level tourist guides conducted by Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) in association with the State Tourism Department. “Services rendered by well-trained guides to Kerala Tourism is invaluable. It is due to their competence and sincere efforts that tourists enjoy the unique attractions that the state offer ... Read more

Having all the trappings of a global spectacle, Kerala Tourism’s Champions Boat League (CBL), India’s first-ever water-based boat racing patterned on the IPL format of cricket, will make its debut next month. Hon. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will flag off the event on August 10, on the sidelines of the famed Nehru Trophy Boat Race at Alappuzha, in the presence of Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. “Every detail has been worked out meticulously for the hassle-free conduct of the event. The preparations are moving to the final stages, “Hon. Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran told a press conference ... Read more

Before a packed audience of artists, connoisseurs and music lovers, the inaugural “Nishagandhi Sangeetha Puraskaram” was presented to eminent musicians Padma  Parassala B Ponnammal and Padma Bhushan Dr. T V. Gopalakrishnan by Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran, for their outstanding contributions to music, on Wednesday. Instituted by Kerala Tourism, the coveted honour, which carries Rs 1.5 lakh, citation and memento, was given away at the valedictory function of the five-day music festival Nishagandhi Monsoon Ragas at Nishagandhi Auditorium, Kanakakunnu Palace, here. In his address, the Minister noted that in the coming years the music festival will ... Read more

Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Govt of Kerala, will inaugurate the project for the implementation of Green Code of Conduct in selected tourist centres to keep them plastic and garbage-free zones, on July 24. The programme, being organized by Responsible Tourism Mission (RT) in association with Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) and local self government institutions, will be held at Chaithram Hotel, Thampanoor at 11 am. As part of the launch of the project, which had been committed by the state government earlier, a two-day workshop also has been planned. The project aims to take nine selected tourist centres to Green ... Read more

Kerala Tourism delegates in America As part of the intense tourism campaigns to attract more tourists to the state, Kerala Tourism has been conducting trade meets and road-shows in the major cities of USA.  New Jersey, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles were the four American cities where Kerala Tourism held trade meets during February, as revealed by a press release by Kerala Tourism. “USA is the second largest market for Kerala Tourism after Europe. The four trade meets conducted there were part of a concerted campaign to tap the full potential of the American travel market. The campaign was aimed ... Read more

Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran addressing the gathering Kerala Tourism has launched the first phase of its ambitious Barrier-free Kerala tourism project on 4th March 2019, making 70 destinations across the state disabled and elderly friendly, becoming the first state in India to implement UN World Tourism Organization’s call for ‘Tourism for All. Inaugurating Phase One of the project, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister Tourism said that the state’s objective was to make all tourism centers accessible to the differently abled by 2021. “Special tour packages for differently empowered tourists, both domestic and foreign, are being planned together with Responsible Tourism Mission,” said ... Read more