Tag: Kerala Tourism

Spreading the competitive spirit of the high-octane snake-boat races to another belt in Kuttanad region, the scenic Pulinkunnu will host this weekend the ninth round of the Champions Boat League (CBL) modelled on IPL cricket. Tropical Titans have surged ahead of their nearest competitors by a fair margin in the points tally with the 12-round pioneering event two-thirds way through and packed with prize monies totalling Rs 5.9 crore, making CBL the country’s fourth highest-paid sports tournament. The leading team, owned by the Pallathuruthy Sports Club of this coastal district, has 113 points, ahead of Raging Rowers (55) and Mighty ... Read more

Tourist destinations in Kerala are all set to go “differently-abled friendly” by 2021, said state tourism minister Kadamapally Surendran, while replying to a question by MLA Veena George. The government has identified around 120 tourist spots across the state in the first phase. Of these, 98 destinations have already been made completely specially-abled friendly “The work on the remaining centres are in progress, all the specially-abled friendly tourist spots will have special parking areas and toilet facilities,” said the minister. Besides this, special tourism packages for the specially-abled were also being implemented under the Responsible Tourism initiative, the minister added. ... Read more

The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), Thiruvananthapuram, is all set to roll out a special tour package connecting prime spots in Kerala capital including the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and Kovalam Beach resort. Styled as ‘Ananthapuri Package,’ the circuit will cover heritage structure ‘Kuthira Malika’, Museum and Zoo, Planetarium, Veli Tourist Village and Shankhumugham beach, all in and around the city. A conducted tour called ‘Triveni Sangamam’ to Kanyakumari, which covers outlying Ponmudi -Meenmutty forest trail and Neyyar Elephant Safari, have also been planned as an extended package. Under the Ananthapuri Package, tourists will be taken around the city in ... Read more

Ayurveda Promotion Society (APS), in association with Kerala Tourism and India Tourism, has launched maiden International Ayurveda Ambassadors’ Tour and B2B Meet on October 25, Dhanwanthari Day. The 45 Ambassadors comprising International Ayurveda operators, agents, bloggers and media personnel from 30 countries around the world, will stay in Kerala for 12 days and discover the possibilities for Ayurveda tourism and discuss the unique health culture and Ayurvedic treatment in Kerala. Six B2B meetings will be held at Bekal, Kozhikode, Cheruthurthy, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kollam, Kumarakom and Kovalam during the 12-day road trip across Kerala, for the visitors for direct interaction with ... Read more

Ending its three-round itinerary in central Kerala, Champions Boat League (CBL) is set to return to the state’s heartland of water-races this Saturday when Kainakary in this coastal district will host the eighth leg of the three-month event concluding next month. Celebrated for its scenic beauty, the Vembanad lake would be the venue for the nine snake-boats to vie yet another time for honours at the 12-leg championships being organised by Kerala Tourism. The non-saline water body has five rivers draining into the tip of Kainakary, which has a tradition of boat races. Located in Kuttanad taluk which is India’s ... Read more

The first venue where Champions Boat League (CBL) was hosted consecutively reinforced the winning skills of Tropical Titans, who finished first yet again at Kottappuram backwaters today and remained atop the table with an emphatic total of 98 points after the seventh round. The finals at the 900-metre track near the historical Kodungallur turned out to be a thriller this evening when it ended in a photo-finish for the second and third winners, behind Tropical Titans (3:30.42). It required camera’s assistance for the judges to declare Backwater Knights the runner-up (3:40.01) and Mighty Oars third (3:41.13). A surprising element in ... Read more

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima have been invited for a state visit to India by President Ram Nath Kovind. The visit took place from 14 October until 18 October. On the fifth and final day of the state visit, the King and Queen cruised the backwaters in Alleppey, on board the Spice Routes Luxury Houseboats. The low-lying area of Alappuzha and Kuttanad were hit by floods in 2018, and during the cruise, the royal couple learned about measures that have been taken to prevent future flooding and discussed on how Dutch knowledge can help. The King ... Read more

 The 11th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) will be held at Kochi in September next year, as India’s largest congregation of tourism industry will see stakeholders across the country and abroad seek new ways to promote business. Announcing the event at a press conference here on Thursday, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said KTM 2020 will aim at exploring new markets for Champions Boat League (CBL), adventure tourism and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) along with finding excellent global buyers. “KTM 2020 will be a four-day event starting on September 24, with two days packed with sessions involving ... Read more

Kottappuram, near Kodungallur, will be the new venue for the seventh race of the Champions Boat League (CBL) this weekend, as organisers changed the original plan to hold the October 19 leg at Ponnani in Malappuram district. Citing logistical reasons that have made it extremely difficult for the CBL snake-boats to be brought to upstate Ponnani, the officials informed that the league’s races this Saturday will be held at the Muziris Kottappuram Waterfront that was the venue for the previous leg on October 12. The district of Thrissur thus gets to host two rounds of the pioneering CBL that was ... Read more

Cheered by a surging crowd of people from various parts of the globe, the fifth round of the Champions Boat League (CBL) in the tourist city of Kochi put brakes on Tropical Titans’ winning spree, with Coast Dominators emerging first in the last match held on October 5, 2019. Tropical Titans, which had topped in all the four previous legs of the pioneering CBL, finished second here in the race where all three finalists rowed neck-and-neck from the starting point to the end, much to the thrill of the 83,000 spectators. At the end of the photo-finish, saw Raging Rowers ... Read more

In a first such initiative in the country, Kerala Tourism will be implementing guidelines and a certification scheme from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to promote more systematic approach and safety in adventure tourism. The procedural guidelines for registration are under consideration of the state government and is expected to come into force by October. BIS will be joining hands with Kerala Tourism to launch the new certification scheme, which is meant to comply with safety and security standards. This was disclosed by State Tourism Director P Bala Kiran IAS on the concluding day of the International Conference on ‘Global Trends ... 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

An increasingly competitive market warrants tourist destinations to constantly update and acquire a unique identity, while creating a story is key to promoting any product as a brand, a global conclave said today. “Innovation is pointless unless it is commercial. We must create an ecosystem conducive for growth by supporting new talents and building start-up incubators,” business information systems expert Brian Marrinan noted at the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT 2019) here. Citing an example from a small city in his native Ireland, he explained how Shannon in the province of Connacht has been a world leader in travel ... Read more

Barely days after it was conferred three PATA gold awards, Kerala Tourism covered itself with more glory as it bagged two prestigious National Tourism Awards 2017-18 for the Best Tourism Film ‘Come Out and Play’ and the third prize in the category of ‘Best State/UT: Comprehensive Development of Tourism – Rest of India’ at an impressive function in New Delhi. Private players like hoteliers and tour operators in Kerala’s travel and hospitality industry substantially increased the awards tally of the state as they were given five more awards. Overall, Kerala received seven awards at the function, organised at the imposing ... Read more