Tag: Kerala Tourism

Kerala’s tourism revenue crossed Rs 36,528 crore during 2018, showing an increase of Rs 2,874.33 crore over last year, despite adverse situations like nipah, floods and hartals. More than 16.7 million tourists visited Kerala in 2018, compared to 15.76 million the previous year, which include domestic and foreign tourists, recording an increase of 5.93 per cent. Of the total footfalls, 1.09 million were foreign tourists. The share of revenue from foreign visitors touched Rs 8,764.46 crore. There was also a boost in arrival of domestic tourists to the state. United Kingdom (UK) accounted for the largest number of foreign visitors, ... Read more

Kasaragod, which has been behind the limelight of the Kerala tourism sector for years, has made a major come back in 2018. As per the statistics of the State Tourism Department, Kasaragod district ranked first in the number of foreign tourists with 269 per cent growth from the previous year. Kollam district, which is in the second place, recorded 45 per cent growth. Bakel Fort, Kasargod In 2017, just 1,115 foreign tourists arrived in Kasaragod district; which has increased has increased to 4,122 in 2018. From among the foreign tourists visited Kasargod in 2018, 2,472 were through the ‘Smile’ initiatives. ... Read more

Kerala’s tourism model of Responsible Tourism (RT) has been lauded by international expert, stating that RT can take the state to a high rank in the attainment of the globally accepted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. “The most important thing for me is the success of the Responsible Tourism Mission and the way in which local communities have been enabled to earn from tourism as an additional livelihood. Local communities don’t stop what they were doing before but have an additional source of income,” said Harold Goodwin, Founder and Managing Director of the International Center for Responsible Tourism. Professor ... Read more

Israeli airline Arkia Airlines Ltd. announce to introduce flights to Goa and Cochin in the state of Kerala. Arkia is joining El Al Israel Airlines Ltd., which operates direct flights to Mumbai, and Air India, which flies from Tel Aviv to Delhi on a shorter route passing above Saudi Arabia. The new flights will start operating from September 2019 using recently acquired Airbus 321neoLR airliners. It will take seven hours reach the destinations and will take place all year round, except for the summer in Israel, which is the monsoon season in India. The flight to Goa will take off ... Read more

Setting a new benchmark on social media platforms, the number of followers on the official Facebook page of Kerala Tourism has now increased to over two and a half million followers, securing the top position among the portals of any such tourism departments in the country. Photo Courtesy: Kerala Tourism One of the first tourism departments in India to have an online presence, the Facebook page, packed with fascinating information, presents to the followers some of the most engaging visual treats of Kerala’s landscape. Innovative tourism products and experiences of Kerala such as ‘Responsible Tourism’ and ‘Village Life Experiences’ form ... Read more

Kerala’s Responsible Tourism Mission has been changing the perspective of tourism in the state. The mission’s new venture PEPPER (Participation for Planning and Empowerment through Responsible Tourism), envisages preserving the ecology, while ensuring sustainable development in the village areas. The first phase of PEPPER has kick started in the Peringamala grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district. Foreign tourists trying rubber tapping PEPPER aims at identifying new zones or unexplored destinations which have a huge tourism potential and developing them in a hundred per cent sustainable fashion with the active participation of the local community. The project aims to empower the members ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: Prasanna Venkatesh The Kerala Budget presented in the Assembly today by Finance Minister Thomas Issac has earmarked Rs 372 crore for the Kerala Tourism. Out of the total budget allocated for tourism, Rs 82 crore will be earmarked for tourism marketing. “The most important aspect regarding the growth of tourism industry is effective marketing. Entrepreneurship has increased because of the marketing efforts carried out under the leadership of the government. We need to strengthen the tourism marketing considering the damages of Nipah and the devastating floods and harthals have made on the industry,” said the minister presenting the budget. ... Read more

The Kerala state Finance Minister Thomas Issac has presented the Kerala Budget 2019 at the Assembly today. And, in his budgetary speech, he said that the the largest heritage conservation project in India, the Muziris Heritage Project, will be completed by 2021. Muziris is an ancient port town in Kerala, which still holds a kind of beauty that is filled with history and culture. And through the project, we get ready to travel back in time for centuries. What this old port town dishes out to us along with history and culture, are the remnants of its past glory, still ... Read more

Though the year has been in all way not favourable for the tourism industry in Kerala, the state has registered marginal growth in both international and domestic tourist arrivals last year. Kerala Tourism is going ahead with its marketing and promotional initiatives both in the domestic and international markets to lure more tourists into the God’s Own Country. The state has set a target to double foreign tourist visits from the current 10 lakh a year to 20 lakh a year by 2020. It also has plans to grow the domestic tourist visits by at least 50 per cent in ... Read more

Kerala finds a place in the 19 places shortlisted by CNN this year for travel enthusiasts to visit in 2019. “This area of India has it all: sun, sea, sand, good food, houseboats, culture and wildlife. Its spectacular natural landscapes — think palm trees and sprawling backwaters — lend the region the nickname “God’s Own Country,” the report says. The report also talks about the devastating floods in August 2018, “Severe floods during the summer of 2018 wreaked havoc across this southwestern state, but many of its top tourist destinations escaped unscathed.” The Cochin International Airport and its solar panels are ... Read more

Kerala Tourism Police Inspector VB Rasheed has received an appreciation letter from the US Consulate thanking the inspector for helping a US citizen stranded in India, to get back to her country. It all started when the Kerala police had received a message saying that an American lady had been absconding from a hotel in Chennai, leaving her belongings there and without paying the hotel bill. The message was from the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office), Kochi, who got the intimation from the US Embassy in Chennai. The lady’s documents were said to be handed over by the hotel authorities ... Read more

There are people who just don’t live their lives, but try to make a signature on whatever things they do. They will always have their own way of dealing with things. Raja Gopaal Iyer, CEO of Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel and Spa, Kovalam, is such a soul. Raj, as he is known among people, always has a different outlook on doing things. His way of managing people is also unique. According to Raja Gopaal Iyer, Managers should not be just bosses, but leaders. He is a true leader who inspires others to dare to dream and excel better. Phentermine without ... Read more

Foreign tourist tries rubber tapping The online platforms developed by the Responsible Tourism Mission under the Department of Tourism are ready. The online platforms are developed with an aim to bring back all the sectors which were shattered during the times of the recent floods in Kerala. The Responsible Tourism Mission Online Platforms are developed to give a fillip to the flood affected tourism sector and also to provide direct and indirect employment to all the people of the state. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran will inaugurate the online platforms on January 18, at 10.30 in Muscat hotel, Thiruvananthapuram. The system aims to bring ... Read more

Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, K J Alphons announced that the Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned projects worth Rs 85.23 crore for the development of Spiritual Circuit III for Kerala under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The sites identified under the circuit are spread across all 14 districts of the state and cover 133 religious places. He said the districts where the projects would be implemented are : Kasargode, Wayand, Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamhitta, Kollam and Thiruvanathapuram . The Minister said the destinations have been selected keeping in view the inherent historic, cultural ... Read more

As per statistics form the tourism department, during the tourist season – from October to April, 26 luxury ships with around 35,000 tourists have arrived in Kerala. Where the projected number of tourists for the season was around 50,000; the number of tourists arrived within two months is considered to be a positive sign in the cruise tourism sector. The Cochin Port Trust has got Rs 3 crore as of now. Cruise tourism is proved to be beneficial for the local market. It is reported that a tourist spent approximately Rs 25,000 per day on major tourism centers in Kerala. ... Read more