Tag Archives: Kadakampally Surendran

Kerala Tourism is gearing up for a three-month long international campaign in its bid to lure foreign tourists to God’s Own Country. The Phase II of the campaign would commence with the participation of Kerala Tourism in Vakantiebeurs, the tourism-leisure fair of The Netherlands, followed by FITUR, the international tourism trade fair of Spain. The German cities of Dusseldorf (January 23) and Hamburg (January 25) would be the venues for the first roadshows in Phase II. The roadshows in the emerging West Asian markets will be held between February 26-28, 2018, which includes Qatar (Doha- February 26), Oman (Muscat-February 27) and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi-February 28). Later in April 2018, B2B meets will be organized in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. On January 24, the campaign will kick-start in New York City of the United States, followed by the New York Times Travel Show scheduled to be held from January 26 to January 28. Further road shows will be organized in Los Angeles (January 30) and San Francisco (February 1), which has been escalating foreign tourist arrivals to Kerala. The campaign would culminate with BIT, the international travel expo and road show at Milan in Italy (February 11 – 13, 2018). The Tourism Department of Kerala had received overwhelming response to the Phase I campaign, at International Trade Fairs and B2B meets in 12 countries, which ended last month. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, stated: “With the promotional strategy, we aim to showcase diversified tourism products across high-potential markets in order to attract tourists to visit the state. Kerala Tourism has been centered on leisure tourism, but now we aim to re-brand Kerala …

Kerala’s new Tourism Policy 2017, unveiled by Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, envisages creation of new customised products for attracting young travellers, professionals, students and artists to the state. The policy emphasises on the active participation of the differently-abled and transgenders, while implementing the Responsible Tourism Mission across the State to promote the tourism sector. Surendran said, “The new policy aims to address the key issues of the tourism industry in cooperation with the local bodies such as waste management and renovation of roads. The state has immense tourism potential to attract travellers from all corners of the world.” “Following the Responsible Tourism Mission, Kerala Tourism has guided all the regional bodies and authorities concerned to implement and follow the Green Protocol at all the destinations of Kerala,” he further added. The Department of Tourism, Kerala, has proposed to establish a Kerala Tourism Regulatory Authority (KTRA) to ensure quality service for tourists and curb unhealthy practices in the tourism sector.  

Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran launched a unique initiative, Ayurbodha at the World Travel Mart in London to enlighten tourists with the basics of Ayurveda. The newest product of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) aimed at blending tourism and knowledge of Ayurveda. Under the initiative, a traveller can stay at any of the KTDC resorts and learn about the ancient medicinal stream of Ayurveda. The focus would be on basic home remedies and diet regimes, Ayurvedic practices for the rejuvenation of body and soul, secrets of pressure points, basics of ‘panchakarma’ treatment and the history and use of medicinal plants. The traveller goes back not only enlightened but also with a certificate for gaining knowledge of Ayurveda. “Ayurveda, as a wellness system and a mainstay tourism product, has been largely confined to treatments and massages. While Kerala is known as a destination for spending serene and peaceful holidays, our time-tested tradition of the ancient Ayurveda can enrich every visitor’s experience,” Surendran said.

Giving a new lease of life to the responsible tourism initiatives in the state of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Government of Kerala, has launched a mission dedicated to responsible and sustainable tourism. The Responsible Tourism Mission is a first in the world and would lead Kerala Tourism through people-friendly, local community-friendly and environment-friendly initiatives ensuring rural development, employment opportunities and women empowerment. Presiding over the launch function was Kadakampally Surendran, Minister of Tourism, Kerala, while K Suresh Kurup, MLA and Jose K Mani were the Chief Guests. Dr Venu V, Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism delivered the welcome speech and P Bala Kiran, Director of Tourism presented the Responsible Tourism Mission project. K Rupesh Kumar, Coordinator, State Responsible Tourism Mission announced the new Responsible tourism destinations. Dr. Venu V said that it’s a proud moment for all of them. “Responsible Tourism that started off in Kumarakom is now a world-renowned concept and a point of discussion across the globe. It’s definitely a proud moment for us to be a pioneer in setting up this concept so effectively. Within a span of 9 years, 16 crores are the profit Kumarakom could gain through tourism. Around 1.16 crore revenue is generated by the localities. The reason behind this growth is the involvement as a group by the communities around.” The aim of RT is to create 1.5 lakh jobs in the future, added Dr Venu V. Surendran, said, “To be the pioneer state in practising the concept of Responsible Tourism in the entire country is a proud moment. The government policy is to make tourism more popular. Apart from improving the functioning of the elite class, the government also aims to use …

The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board has reportedly approved new infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in Malabar region. According to Tourism Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran, the state is putting all efforts to leverage tourism to the Malabar region including five districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargod and Wayanad. Surendran reportedly pointed that though a million foreign travellers and 13.1 million domestic tourists visit Kerala every year, only about a sixth of them visit the scenic Malabar and the government plans to change this with its efforts. He reportedly said that the travel destinations in Malabar will be developed in keeping with the best international tourism norms. With a new airport in Kannur about to open, the state is now installing the infrastructure to put Malabar on the global tourism map. “Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) will set up a four-star hotel in Kozhikode and three other star hotels in Bekal beach, Muzhupilangad beach and Kannur airport,” he reportedly said. The state has urged the private players to invest in Malabar. V Venu, Principal Secretary-Tourism, reportedly said that the government is negotiating hospitality projects with a number of global brands. “We’ll fill the (infrastructure) gaps with our tourism development funds,” he said. Source: India Today

The Government of Kerala is looking at 50 per cent increase in the number of domestic tourists and 100  per cent increase in foreign arrivals by 2021, Tourism Minister, Kadakampally Surendran has said. “Digital platforms are the key to achieve the aim. Year after year, we see a constant growth in the number of tourists we host. Hence the industry needs to evolve in accordance with the changes in global market. Kerala Tourism has been exploring new media as a key platform and has witnessed the reach and response to it,” he noted. Dr. Venu V, IAS, Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism, says, “Kerala Tourism has always been in the forefront as we were the first tourist destination to start a website. Later, we spread our presence to other social media platforms. The technology platforms are gently stronger. Hence we need to redesign and reengineer to cater the demands of guests.”

The Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala in association with Association of Tourism Trade Organisations (ATTOI) will host the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) in Kochi. The three-day long event that will begin on June 8 will be formally inaugurated by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran on June 9, and it will address the challenges related with technology faced by Indian tourism and hospitality industry. The inaugural function will see a string of high-profile attendees, including Hibi Eden MLA, Dr Venu V, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, and P Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Department of Tourism. Dr. Venu will launch the twitter campaign #Kerala #IndiaForBeginners and Shri Bala Kiran will launch the Facebook campaign during the inaugural ceremony. “Kerala Tourism has always been a pioneer in taking significant steps to promote state tourism and support the growth of the tourism industry. This conference on tourism technology is yet another initiative undertaken in association with ATTOI. Keeping pace with the technological advancements also helps in reaching out to international tourists by being easily accessible through social media platforms,” said Minister for Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran. “Kerala Tourism, with its new tourism policy, is preparing for a big leap in promoting responsible tourism that benefits the visitor as well as local communities. The government is confident that the progress of the state through tourism is unfinished without the idea of inclusion in terms of increased participation of the community in general,” he added.

In an attempt to boost cruise tourism from North Kerala, the state government has drawn the Maland-Malabar Cruise Tourism project which aims at linking rivers and backwaters in the region. Funds to the tune of Rs. 300 crore have been sanctioned for the same. This was informed by Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Minister, Government of Kerala. He said, “The aim is to ensure that the project is ready by early next year.” Surendran further added that this project is expected to be a milestone in the region’s development. A committee with Kannur’s district collector as chairman will be constituted to monitor the project which also envisages development of basic amenities and tourism infrastructure facilities. Walkways and boat jetties will be constructed at Parassinikadavu and Pazhayangadi for which the state government has sanctioned Rs 15 crore. The River Bank tourism project envisages linking of the rivers and water bodies at Valapatnam, Kuppam, Perumba, Anjarakkandy, Mahi, Thalassery, Nileswaram, Thejaswini, Vilaya, Paramathadakkam and Chandragiri and their art forms and places of natural beauty has been drawn up. In order to provide homestay facilities for tourists, Kerala Institute of Travel Tourism Studies has been assigned the task to provide basic training to the owners. As part of responsible tourism, three islands will be brought under the Malabar Cruise tourism project. (Source: PTI)

The cash crunch has severely affected the tourism sector since demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 currency notes came into effect from November 8 last, stated Kadakampally Surendran, Minister – Co-operation, Tourism and Devaswoms, Govt. of Kerala. There has been a decrease of 10-15 per cent in the number of foreign tourists arriving while the number of domestic tourists dipped by 20-30 per cent, he added. He pointed out that the state netted a revenue of Rs 25,000 crore every year from the tourism sector. “The currency crunch arose during the tourism season itself and so, things went wrong to a great extent,” Surendran said, adding that foreign tourists were not getting enough cash at airports on their arrival. Tourists were also spending very little money in the state now which had affected the local traders, he stated. The houseboat business, one of the main attractions of backwater tourism in Kerala, was “on the verge of collapse”, he said and added that the state government would do “everything possible” to boost the tourism sector. Surendran, who also holds the Co-operation portfolio, said the cooperative sector was in a “bad shape” and alleged that even though the Supreme Court had directed for provisions for cash in the sector, no step had been taken in that regard.