Tag Archives: Kerala Tourism

Rubbishing rumours that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till November 2020, Baby Mathew Somatheeram, President, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), has said that the situation in Kerala is expected to become normal by the end of the second phase of the lockdown. “The state is now making all preparations to receive tourists once the country becomes COVID-free. Kerala Tourism is drawing up ambitious plans to attract domestic tourists in a big way.” KTM denies reports that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till October – November this year in view of COVID-19 outbreak, asserting that the State Government has not come out with any such instruction. “Certain quarters are spreading this false propaganda by misinterpreting the positive suggestion made by State Finance Minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac that efforts to revive tourism in the state should start now itself. It is significant that the Finance Minister has also noted that the experience of the foreign tourists, who have recovered from COVID-19 by receiving effective treatment in Kerala itself will boost the state’s tourism prospects in the coming days,” he added.

Tourism Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran has said that after three confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, the tourism sector is badly affected as hotel bookings have suffered mass cancellations for the month of February and March. “Several bookings in hotels for the months of February and March have been cancelled. The bookings were almost full for these months earlier. The cancellations now are much more, compared to that after Nipah virus was reported. A lot of misinformation on the virus is being spread too,” said Surendran in the state Assembly during the question hour. Urging media to exercise self-restraint during the time of calamities and keep themselves away from fearmongering, the minister said blowing up issues beyond proportion was largely affecting tourism industry. A total of 8.19 lakh tourists had visited the southern state, popularly known as the “God’s Own Country”, in 9 months in 2019, which was 10.96 lakh in 2018, the minister added.

Kerala Tourism is organising partnership meets and participating in in ten cites across India in the first quarter of 2020, in order to attract domestic tourists to the destination. The cities include Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Guwahati, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Minister, Kerala, revealed that domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala in 2019 saw an overall increase as compared to 2018. The number of domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala is up by 16 per cent for the first three Quarters in 2019

In a bid to promote Kerala in the China Market, Kerala Tourism with a high-profile delegation, along with the travel trade partners from the state, participated in China International Travel Mart (CITM) 2019 at Kunming and also organised two roadshows in Shanghai and Beijing. Kadakamapally Surendran, Minister, Tourism, Kerala, said, “We are trying to ensure brand visibility in East Asian markets using innovative strategies.  China is an important emerging market for Kerala Tourism. In just two decades, it has become the world’s largest outbound travel market, with some 145 million Chinese travellers visiting abroad in 2017.” Apart from Japan, Kerala Tourism is also focusing on Singapore and Japan, and participated in ITB Asia 2019 in Singapore and Tourism Expo Japan, held in Osaka, Japan.  

The Department of Tourism, Kerala organised Kerala Tourism Partnership Meet 2019 in Delhi to brief the media and trade about developments and initiatives in the state besides highlighting its marketing and promotional plan for the year. The presentation was followed by a cultural programme that showcased Kerala’s dance, art and music forms. On the occasion, BS Biju, Tourist Information Officer, Kerala Tourism informed, “Delhi is one of the most promising markets for us. Business meetings are being organised by Kerala Tourism in both domestic and international markets annually as part of our marketing strategy. 32 tourism industry players and trade partners including tour operators, hotels and other service providers from Kerala held meetings with their counterparts in Delhi.” To further reach out to the domestic market, a series of Partnership Meets are planned in 10 cities. After Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Delhi, the Meets will be organised in Jaipur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Madurai in February. According to the data released by Kerala Tourism, domestic arrivals in the state increased to 1,46,73,520 translating into an 11.39 per cent year-on -year growth in 2017 while international arrivals during the year was 10,91,870, an increase of 5.15 per cent over the 2016’s figures.

The winners of the 2018 PATA Grand and Gold Awards were felicitated at PATA Travel Mart 2018 on September 14 at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Malaysia.  PATA Gold Award 2018 for Women Empowerment Initiative went to Peak DMC, India, for empowering women through inclusive work and PATA Gold Award 2018 for Heritage was bagged by Sahapedia for India Heritage Walk Festival. SOTC Travel won the award for Marketing Media – Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media while Yalla Kerala campaign of Kerala Tourism, bagged the PATA Gold Award for Marketing Media – Travel Advertisement Print Media. Cox & Kings India won the award for Marketing Media – Travel Brochure, an experiantial showcase of Indian journeys. The Ultimate Travelling Camp (TUTC) won the PATA Gold Award for Marketing Media – Travel Video. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, said, “I would like to congratulate the 2018 PATA Grand and Gold Award winners as well as all of this year’s participants for their submissions. This year’s winners exemplify the true values of the association in working towards a more responsible travel and tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region.” Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), said, “This year’s PATA Gold Award winners present us with yet another wide array of remarkable accomplishments in different branches of the tourism industry. MGTO is honoured to help facilitate this PATA awards programme in inspiring tourism stakeholders throughout the Asia Pacific region.” This year’s awards attracted 200 entries from 87 organisations and individuals worldwide.

The Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, is all set to kick start its five-month long promotional campaign in the high-potential domestic markets. Kerala Tourism has plans to conduct 15 B2B meets across domestic markets in order to attract the maximum number of domestic travellers to its various destinations. The phase I of the ambitious promotional campaign 2018-2019 would commence with the Travel & Tourism Fair in Kolkata from July 6-8, followed by the tourism partnership meets in Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) on July 10 and 12, respectively. Kerala Tourism would tap the Karnataka market with IITM Bengaluru (July 27-29) and Gujarat with three partnership meets in Ahmedabad (July 31), Vadodara (August 1) and Surat (August 3) each.  Further, it would organise partnership meets in Lucknow (August 14) and Indore (August 17), followed by trade fair – TTF Ahmedabad (September 7-9). Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Cooperation, Tourism and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala, stated, “Following the ambitious promotional campaign, the Tourism Department aims to promote the state’s tourism across potential domestic markets. Simultaneously, Kerala Tourism would continue to keep focusing on exploring the tourism potential of pristine Northern Kerala. Through domestic B2B meets, we are hopeful to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the state across the country.” Additionally, Kerala Tourism has plans to promote its tourism potential in Maharashtra through conducting partnership meets in Nagpur (October 3), TTF Mumbai from October 5-7 along with partnership meets in Pune (October 9) and Mumbai (October 12).  The first phase of the domestic B2B meets would culminate with IITM Hyderabad (November 23-25), tapping the Telangana market.

An increase of 11.39 per cent has been recorded in domestic tourist arrivals to Kerala in 2017, as compared to the figures of previous year, according to figures compiled by Kerala Tourism. Meanwhile, foreign tourist arrivals increased by 5.15 per cent during the period. “Travellers from across the globe arrived in Kerala in large numbers during 2017, and the growth has been recorded at 5.15 per cent compared with the figures of last year. This comes at a time when the tourism industry is suffering from adverse factors like enhanced GST rates and allied hurdles. The growth figures point to the immense popularity Kerala Tourism enjoys beyond the borders”, said Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms. With growth almost doubling than that of last year, domestic tourist arrivals have, in fact, achieved more than what has been targeted in the Kerala Tourism Policy. On the foreign tourist arrivals front, footfalls have increased from 10,38,419 to 10,91,870. The figures point to the fact that there has been an increase of 53,451 more foreign tourists this year, with figures nearing 11 lakh.  

Following Phase-II of its promotional campaign, Department of Tourism, Kerala has planned to target Europe with a budget of Rs 7.5 crore. Kerala Tourism has planned to showcase diversified products across the European terrain to entice travellers and has been promoting the state as a preferred tourist destination across the globe. Highlighting the significance of the campaign, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswoms, Government of Kerala said, “Considering Europe’s top position in the list of high-potential markets for overall tourism growth, Kerala Tourism has activated a rigorous promotional campaign involving diverse products that have the capability to attract travellers from the European countries to Kerala.” Highlighting the growth of state tourism, Rani George, IAS, Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Government of Kerala stated, “Through this promotional and marketing campaign, Kerala Tourism aims to double the foreign tourist arrivals and increase domestic tourist arrivals by 50 per cent, by 2021.” Under the promotional campaign in Europe 2017-18, Kerala Tourism has planned to utilise all forms of promotional tools under various categories, including television campaigns (Rs 3.5 crore), Out of Home (OOH) campaign (Rs 2.5 crore), Consumer Travel Mart (Rs 1 crore) and Kerala Blog Express (Rs 50 Lakhs).  

To reach out to the domestic market, Kerala Tourism is organising a string of Partnership Meets in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kolkata, Patna and Delhi in the 1st quarter of 2018. At the Partnership Meet in Mumbai on January 09, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Government of Kerala, said, “To ensure the accomplishment of an ambitious target of a 100% increase in arrival of foreign tourists and 50% in domestic tourists in five years, a tourism regulatory authority has been formed. This would help put a stop to any unhealthy practices and guarantee better intervention of the Tourism Department through scrutiny and a licensing system.” The new Kerala Tourism Policy also forms a major highlight of this year’s domestic campaign. The revamped fare with an array of new tourism products was showcased at Mumbai today.