Tag Archives: Kerala

Kerala Tourism launches Continuous Tourist Survey 2017-20 (CTS)

To accelerate the growth of tourism in Kerala, the Department of Tourism has launched a three-year long Continuous Tourist Survey 2017-20 (CTS). The Government of India will provide financial assistance of Rs. 25 lakhs, for the survey. During 2010-13, Kerala Tourism had conducted a similar Continuous Tourist Survey (CTS). One of the key findings of that survey was that a foreign tourist stays an average of 18 days in Kerala, while spending Rs. 81,000 on average. The Continuous Tourist Survey (CTS 17-20), conducted in collaboration with Datamation Consultants, intends to study in depth the interest of tourists, their age and demographic details, reasons for visit and nature of tours undertaken. A mobile application will be used by the enumerators of Datamation Consultants to collect various details. The survey will cover not only tourist destinations but also hotels, house boats, home stays, Ayurveda centers, restaurants, tour operators, etc. The Minister for Tourism Kadakampally Surendran, said, “Through the data obtained from the survey, the Tourism Department will evaluate the growth of tourism. The survey will provide us an accurate picture of tourists, likes and dislikes and help us to plan accordingly.” He added that Kerala has been following a comprehensive tourism development plan to double the number of domestic tourist arrivals and increase foreign tourist arrivals by 50%, by 2021. Speaking about the growing popularity of Kerala as a tourism destination, Dr. Venu.V, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala stated, “With over 1 million foreign tourists and 13.1 million domestic tourist arrivals, Kerala has been witnessing tremendous growth in tourist traffic since the last couple of years. Kerala has now become a trendsetter in the Indian tourism industry and we …

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Strongest-ever participation by India at IFTM Top Resa 2017

India’s participation grew manifolds at IFTM Top Resa MAP Pro, France’s only multi-sector travel and tourism trade show. Indian states, such as, Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Goa received an overwhelming response from this market. India Tourism and the private sector created a buzz and saw great potential at the event held from September 25-28. The four-day event was attended by 30,929 industry professionals, demonstrating the vitality and energy that characterise the travel and tourism industry. As many as 1,694 brands were spread across 543 stands.

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Andhra Pradesh declared best state at National Tourism Awards 2015-16

Andhra Pradesh was declared the best state for comprehensive development of tourism at National Tourism Awards 2015-2016. Rajasthan emerged as second best while the third prize was shared between Kerala and Goa. Commemorating World Tourism Day, the Ministry of Tourism organised the awards at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on September 27, 2017. President of India Ram Nath Kovind graced the occasion as Chief Guest and gave away awards in various categories. K.J. Alphons, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism, Government of India, presided over the function. Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma welcomed the dignitaries and guests including Tourism Ministers of States and State Government Officials, members from the travel and hospitality sector, leading hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators. The President launched the ‘Incredible India 2.0 Campaign’; ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project and new Incredible India Website on the occasion. ‘Incredible India 2.0 Campaign’ marks a shift from the present generic promotions being undertaken across the world, to market specific promotional plans and product specific creatives, with greater focus on digital presence and social media. ‘Adopt A Heritage’ Project plans to entrust heritage sites to the public sector and private sector companies and individuals for the development of tourist amenities. They will become ‘Monument Mitras’ and adopt bthe sites. The ‘Incredible India Website’ is an advanced version of the website with more useful features.

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ATOAI Convention in Kumarakom from Sept 18-21

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) will host its 13th annual convention at Backwater Ripples Resort in Kumarakom, Kerala, from September 18-21, 2017. The theme of the convention-Emerging Pathways will focus on making India as the adventure capital of the world. The convention will provide a platform for key stakeholders of the industry including representatives of the government, tourism boards and other players, to deliberate upon adventure tourism policy, capacity creation, responsible tourism and marketing of this segment.

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Hotels with 3 or more stars to reopen bars in Kerala

The dry spell is over in Kerala with the state government reversing the restricted liquor policy of the previous government and allowing bars to function as usual. The government will allow the bars to function in hotels with three-star status and above. The five-star hotels are already allowed to open bars. Hotels below three-star category will be allowed to run beer and wine parlours. The bars will remain open from 11 am to 11pm. Bars will be allowed to remain open from 10 am to 11pm in tourism centres. Both international and domestic terminals of the airports will be allowed to sell liquor. The permissible age limit for consuming liquor has been increased from 21to 23. The new liquor policy will protect the interests of the traditional liquor, toddy. Bars, including the 5five-star ones, will be allowed to sell toddy. Toddy Board will be constituted to protect the interests of the industry. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the UDF policy of restricted liquor policy was a failure. “It has led to an increase in the demand for drugs. The Supreme Court order on closure of bars and liquor stores on the highways will be implemented,” he added. (Source: Economic Times)

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Etihad expands capacity to Kerala

Etihad Airways has launched a fourth daily non-stop service between Kozhikode in Kerala and its Abu Dhabi hub offering convenient onward connections to cities worldwide. The airline is celebrating 10 years of flying to the southern Indian state with the introduction of additional flights to the destination. The extra capacity takes to 63 the total number of weekly services between Abu Dhabi and its three Kerala gateways of Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. This represents over 30 per cent of Etihad Airways’ frequencies from across 11 Indian cities it serves. In addition, strategic Indian partner Jet Airways operates seven flights a week from Kochi to Abu Dhabi. The services largely cater to the huge expatriate population from all three Kerala cities and the surrounding areas, living and working in the Gulf region. Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways Vice President Indian Subcontinent, said: “With our multi-frequency scheduled flights to and from Kerala, Etihad Airways has demonstrated a commitment to this vibrant state by offering convenient global access and boosting the domestic tourism industry. We have been able to bring the world closer to this beautiful state and connect the people of Kerala to destinations in the Gulf, including our Abu Dhabi home, which has also been the base for thriving ventures by Kerala business houses. Reaching a 10-year milestone is fitting tribute to the support Etihad Airways has received from the state government of Kerala in making our operations a success.” Dr Venu Vasudevan, Principal Secretary Kerala Tourism, said: “Kerala Tourism is delighted to learn of the extra flights launched by Etihad Airways, which adds more connectivity to Kerala. We congratulate Etihad Airways on a decade of flying to Kerala and look forward to conducting …

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K.C. Chandrahasan enters the Gallery of Legends

K.C. Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travels Interserve, is the stalwart to enter the Gallery of Legends at the 4th South India Travel Awards in Kochi. A visionary in the travel and tourism industry, he has been the President of TAAI- Kerala Chapter as well as the Chairman of Air Passenger Association of India. A renowned author of several Malayalam plays and writer and director of two Malayalam films, Chandrahasan has even won a National Award for ‘The Thekkady Tiger Trail’ project. He is one of the brains behind Interserve, which was reckoned as Indian travel industry’s answer to the inundation of multinational companies in India.

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4th South India Travel Awards concludes in Kochi

The fourth edition of South India Travel Awards was held at Crowne Plaza Kochi, Kerala on May 2. Achievers from the travel and tourism industry of South India were awarded in total of 47 categories. Attended by the who’s who of the region, the Chief Guest for the evening was Dr. A. Jayathilak, Chairman, Spices Board of India. Other dignitaries present during the inauguration ceremony were  K.C. Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travel Interserve, M.P. Purushothaman, Chairman and Managing Director, Empee Group, Hanneli Slabber, Country Manager: India at South African Tourism, Gladrags Mrs. India 2017 Arni Saikal, Riyaz U.C., Managing Director, Spiceland Holidays, Shuvendu Banerjee, GM, Crowne Plaza Kochi, and SanJeet, Mentor, India Travel Awards.

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MOT’s ‘Smart India Hackathon 2017’ from April 1-2

The Ministry of Tourism will host the Grand Finale of “Smart India Hackathon” on April 1-2, 2017, in Kochi, Kerala, featuring 53 teams comprising of 230 students from technology institution/engineering colleges across the country. The Smart India Hackathon is being held across 26 cities in the country including Kochi with the involvement and support of 29 government departments. This Hackathon is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resources Development organised in collaboration with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and i4c and is aimed to help institutionalise the model of harnessing the creativity and technical expertise of youth in technical institutions. The Hackathon for Tourism sector, to be held at the Mar Baselios Institute of Technology and Science [MBITS], Kothmangalam, Cochin, will focus on the use of technology to solve problem statements pertaining to Tourism Sector posed by Ministry of Tourism such as Safety & Security of Tourist, Path breaking technological solutions that would catapult India as a leading tourist destination, Museum Commentary etc. The problem statements pertaining to tourism sector were given directly by the Ministry of Tourism based on the industry requirements which will be used to challenge the students for developing innovative digital solutions. The newly developed solutions/technical products will be evaluated by experts and prizes shall be distributed for winners, 1st runner up and 2nd runner up. After the event, the Ministry of Tourism will prepare a plan of action for integrating the products/software which has come out this hackathon into the Departmental functioning.

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Kerala rolls out customised trips to Biennale

In keeping with Kerala’s new ‘Land of Biennale’ branding, its District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) has launched the ‘Biennale Deluxe’ initiative, which will provide free, customised tours of the ongoing third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. The first of a number of such buses planned over the Biennale’s run pulled in from Thiruvananthapuram, bringing 17 visitors across age groups for a weekend trip to India’s only Biennale. The group took in a tour of primary venue Aspinwall House and other sites. K. Suresh Kumar, assistant manager, DTPC – Thiruvanthapuram, said, “The Biennale has become a major unique selling point to promote Kerala and this prompted us to roll out this attractive and unique tourism initiative. The Biennale Deluxehas been conceptualised and executed by the DTPC. The DTPC organises customised tours from the state capital to various tourist destinations in the state. We already have a well chalked-out itinerary, which engages the guests with both the host city and the Biennale. The one-day trip to the KMB is totally free of cost.” The initiative is supported by a leading tour operator. The Council is planning to associate with other tourism stakeholders across the state to bring in more people to the Biennale, especially from southern Kerala, and organise similar trips.

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