Tag Archives: Kerala

Kerala Tourism has rolled out ‘The Great Backwater Experience’ zone at a special interactive stall in the departure terminal at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi. The initiative uses virtual reality to allow passengers to experience a Kerala experience while waiting to catch their flight. Similar zones are also being set up at airports in Mumbai and Bengaluru. U.V. Jose, Director, Kerala Tourism, said, “The zone is up and functional at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi and visitors can get an immersive experience of sitting inside a ‘kettuvellam’, a traditional Kerala houseboat, floating on tranquil backwaters in a place situated over 2,000 km away. This has been made possible through the innovative use of virtual reality.”

Etihad Airways will launch a fourth daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Kozhikode on 26 March 2017, capitalising on the strong traffic flows between the state of Kerala and the UAE, and beyond. The airline will also double its frequency between Abu Dhabi and Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, from 1 February 2017 with the launch of a new daily service. Etihad Airways announced the expansion of scheduled services between Abu Dhabi and India as strategic partner Jet Airways unveiled new routes and additional frequencies to further strengthen their partnership. From early 2017, the two airlines will expand their services between the United Arab Emirates and India by adding 28 weekly flights and three further Indian cities. Jet Airways recently announced the launch of daily flights between Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu, and Abu Dhabi on 1 February 2017, offering travellers another option from southern India. Jet Airways will also introduce daily services from Kannur, the fourth Kerala gateway to Abu Dhabi. It also plans daily services from the northern Indian city of Chandigarh to Abu Dhabi, which will benefit travellers to and from the state of Punjab. The two routes are due to begin in the second half of 2017, subject to the completion of operational readiness at these airports. From 15 January 2017, Jet Airways will introduce a second daily service between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi. With Etihad Airways already operating three flights a day between the two capital cities, the enhanced operation will give guests a wider choice of departure times. Etihad Airways currently operates 175 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and 11 Indian cities. Together, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways offer 252 weekly flights …

Kerala Tourism has rolled out a taxi campaign in Dubai targeting Arab travellers, showcasing the state’s features on taxis on the Dubai roads. Around 200 Kerala-branded taxis carry the message of ‘A Faraway Land Four Hours Away’– with visuals featuring hill stations, backwaters, waterfalls and also Ayurvedic therapies. The campaign will see the cabs take to the streets sporting wrappings aimed to promote the state’s Monsoon getaways. “Apart from the favourable climate, the relative proximity and excellent air connectivity between Kerala and the cities of the Middle East make it easier to attract holiday makers to the state,” said Dr. Venu V, Principal Secretary Tourism, Kerala. “Dubai, being the hub for air travel in the region, was the logical choice of location for the marketing campaign. The exposure and footfalls gained by Kerala will bear this out.” The campaign, inspired by the previous highly successful branding efforts on London taxi cabs and the Mumbai metro, will run until August 15. Besides serving to augment Kerala’s destination pull, it is an acknowledgment of the growing importance of the Middle East outbound tourist market. Kerala received more than one lakh visitors from the region in 2015, with some 20,506 tourists from the UAE alone. The majority came from Saudi Arabia with 51,149 Saudi nationals visiting last year, while Oman accounted for 18,763 footfalls. “As the holiday season in the Middle East coincides with the Monsoon season here, Kerala is well-positioned to benefit from the influx of travellers looking to trade in the sizzle and dust for cooler climes and greener pastures,” said U.V. Jose, Director, Kerala Tourism.

Kerala received 9,77,479 foreign tourists in the year 2015 recording a growth of 5.86 per cent over the previous year’s figure of 9,23,366. Domestic tourists footfall during the same period was 1,24,65,571 with a growth of 6.59 per cent over the previous year’s figure 1,16,95,411. Nandakumar K P, Deputy Director, Kerala Tourism, recently informed at a roadshow held in New Delhi. He also said, “Tourist figures to Kerala have been growing vigorously for the past twenty years. We only saw a little bit of slow down last year and previous year but we are still growing. So, this year we are coming out with a five year action plan to increase footfall. We are going to increase the accommodation facilities and availability and increase the number of classified hotels. We are going to introduce more than 1000 home stays also. We are also going to tap new international markets like the Eastern Europe which is an emerging market for us.” He also informs that the state aims to add 5,00,000 more employment opportunities in the tourism sector in the next five years.

Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India (ATTOI), a consortium of tour operators in Kerala, have launched a 9-day experiential package ‘Navaratana Experiessential Holidays’, for inbound tourists which would include 500 new packages for visitors in the first phase.  The highlight of the packages will be an insight into village life, community interactions and promotion of sustainable tourism practices. Local interactions, tradition of Ayurveda, full body massages, jungle boat safari, backwater cruises on houseboats, tea factory visits, tour of Kerala’s trade and cultural ties with the rest of the world. The first phase of the packages by the consortium, targets foreign tourists and is uploaded on ATTOI website. Packages for domestic tourists will be launched in the next phase. “The Navaratana ‘Experiessential’ Holidays is going to redefine the way we see Kerala with 99 unique experiences in nine days,” said Anish Kumar P K, President, ATTOI. The finer elements of the industry consortium by ATTOI involves collaboration of hotels, tour operators and vendors at each destination. A P Anil Kumar, Tourism Minister, Kerala, said, “The state government’s plan allocation to the tourism fund has been increased from Rs 100 Crores to Rs 225 Crores in the course of five years. This will be further increased in the coming budget session.”